A Rose In The Shadows
by Princess Kitana Rose
Summary: Betrayals, love, hate, new friendships, Hermione's life has it all. A dark time is rising and Herimone finds love in an unexpected place that could lead her to her death... Hr&Dm other pairings too! Plz R&R! Slightly AU.
1. Pumpkin Juice

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter or any of the related characters. They are all owned by the marvelous J.K. Rowling. All props to her!

**My First Authors Note:** Wow! I finally got around to it! I was just sitting around reading fanfiction and I finally got an idea for an original story! YaY! Cheers from...glances around Ok so only me. Anyway, I hope you will all enjoy this story that I have spent a long time thinking about. 

**Warnings:** Ok. This story is rated at PG-13 only for safe measure. There is some slight cursing. I don't curse much myself anyway and I don't plan to write it into my story. It is also rated that because this is a story about...love. And sometimes there are things that PG just isn't...what's the word...used for? I don't know it wouldn't fit in PG and barely fits PG- 13. Also this is a story containing Hermione/Draco. It also has Harry and Ron from a different view! Gasp! Well, they aren't too out of character and I know this story would never happen in the carefully thought out brilliance known as J.K.R's writing but this is fanfiction. Get it?

Anyway, with out farther ado, I announce the first chapter of

**Addition:** Well this is an edited chapter so I hope you like it better then the first one. Also, in this story Blaise is a girl and not a guy. Plus I started writing this story before Half Blood Prince so now it's AU I suppose. I think that's it for now. I hope ya'll enjoy it!

**A Rose In The Shadows**

**Pumpkin Juice  
**  
Hermione sat by herself at the Gryffindor table pushing her food around her plate deep in thought. Usually someone would have said something to her about her strange behavior, but no one was around. You see, Hermione Granger was never spoken to; only spoken of. No one sat with her, let alone had a nice conversation with her. In fact the people closest to her were the people sitting at a different table, and the Hufflepuffs seemed displeased to have to sit even that close to her.

The first years never believed that she use to be the friends of Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. She never talked to them, let alone looked their way. They found it impossible for her to even be in the same house as them. The others of Hogwarts now thought it was just a figure of their imagination that they had at one time been inseparable, the golden trio, and the best of friends. They couldn't comprehend that now she sat by herself and they sat down the table chatting away merrily with some of their friends.

It was rumored that she had betrayed them somehow. They say that she turned all of their secrets over to the Dark Lord. Hermione had always been one of the smartest people ever to enter Hogwarts. Even as smart as Voldemort himself maybe. That's why the rumor was so believable to everyone. Hermione would never do anything unless she had thought it through. She must have found a way to get unthinkable power if she decided to help the Dark Lord. Hermione was smart enough to think of everyway it would benefit her. No one talked about it to her face of course, they just whispered around her. Whenever she turned the corner they would stop talking and stare at her. Hermione knew they were talking about her, and it upset her very much.

It didn't help her side of the story that the Slytherins were always saying or doing things to prove that she had done something wrong. After she had tried again to explain to Harry and Ron that she didn't say anything to anyone about them, Malfoy walked over to her, his goonies right in tow and said loud enough for everyone to hear, "Granger, there's a meeting tonight in the forbidden forest. It seems you're being promoted!"

Hermione remembered the incident quite well. She remembered the look on his face when he said that. He looked like he was in the highest thrown of the most powerful of kingdoms looking down at her knowing he had the upper- hand. His eyes shone with hate and malice for her and she could tell he had been planning this moment for quite a long time. She hated him ever more than she ever had in that one fleeting moment.

But what pained her more than Harry and Ron not listening to her explanations of what really happened, was that they seemed to have replaced her without hesitation. Parvati Patil was now in her spot. Parvati, not unlike Malfoy, knew that she had the upper-hand over her. She knew what to say and when to say it. She flaunted around the school enjoying the familiarity of everyone knowing her as part of the new inseparable trio. Anytime she would pass Hermione in the hall she was with Ron on one side and Harry on the other. As she passed she would smirk and flip her hair around like some girl from a movie. Ron and Harry would scowl at Hermione and then sneer at her.

Parvati had never seemed to be a bad person to Hermione. Throughout her years with her sharing the same bedroom she had always been almost pleasant and friendly with her. But now that she was more popular than she was before she started going out of her way to make her upset. She had even started going out with Ron. That made Hermione's blood boil with anger and sadness.

Ron was the type of person Hermione had always planned on marrying. He was handsome, friendly, had a good sense of humor, and always made her smile. Although they had certainly had their number of huge fights they always seemed eager to make up and be friends again. Hermione looked down the table staring at Ron for a moment. He was currently laughing along with Harry at something someone had said. He had his arm slung around Parvati's shoulders as she shook with laughter too. His face crinkled in a smile Hermione knew all too well. His eyes twinkled merrily as they danced all around the room. His red hair still fell into his eyes giving the seventeen-year-old a look of mysteriousness and sexiness.

He sure seemed to get over her fast.

Harry on the other hand had all the qualities she had ever wanted in a best friend. He was always there for her, said just the right things, kept all of her secrets, and never let her get sad. Harry had been very understanding to all of Hermione's feelings throughout the years. He always offered a shoulder for her to cry on and his eyes always had a sense of a little boy staring up at her asking for acceptance. Hermione was quick to give it to him. He had accepted her for the bossy person she was when she first showed up at Hogwarts and she was thankful for it. She gazed at her other friend for a moment too. His dark green eyes laughed along with everyone and his smile reached from ear to ear. His dark untidy hair was just that; untidy. He never tried to tame it anymore deciding it was a losing battle. Instead he let it go what ever way it wanted to and it made him one of the most chased after boys at Hogwarts.

Hermione shook her head trying to clear the many questions swirling around it. But one question seemed to pop into her head: "Why do the teachers act so different?" Not even the teachers would talk to her, unless absolutely necessary. McGonagall, her favorite teacher would just purse her lips answer shortly and say what was only what she had to and then turn to another student or teacher. Sometimes she would even ignore Hermione's hand waving around in the air. Dumbledore would twitch the corners of his mouth, like he was trying to decide to smile or frown. Hermione didn't know weather to be upset by this or just to let it pass. Dumbledore was often a very confusing person and always had a strange way of showing things. But of all her teachers Snape was the worst.

He would smile evilly at her. Like he knew something that she didn't. In his class he wouldn't deduct points anymore but would always insult her ways. He always seemed to want to go out of his way to make her feel miserable...even more than before. It was painful because now when he insulted her not only would the Slytherins laugh but so would the Gryffindors.

Something bumped the table and Hermione's thoughts were rudely interrupted as her pumpkin juice spilled over the hardwood. People laughed at her as she hastily scrubbed it up with her napkin. The napkin quickly turned a yellowish color when it couldn't mop up anymore of the spilled juice. Hermione scowled as more bumps hit the table. She looked up to see Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan bumping the table trying to make her goblet spill over again. They had never really been her friends but she seemed upset that they would do that. Dean wouldn't hurt a fly if his life depended on it. Seamus was a little different. He wasn't the nicest of people, but he was understanding and only liked you if you did something your way and not by what others did.

The laughter echoed across the Great Hall and came back to her ears ten times worse than just one laugh would have as she looked around the room from face to face. Everyone that she once trusted with her life was now laughing hysterically at her: Collin Creevy, Ginny Weasley, Luna Lovegood, Ernie McMillan, Hannah Abbot, _everyone_. Faces started to blur as tears filled her eyes. Harry and Ron got up from their place at the table walking slowly over to Hermione laughing rather hard and having a hard time walking over to her in a straight line.

A big push made the remaining contents of her goblet spill all over her lap, staining her shirt and skirts a yellowish orangish color. Hermione shot up from her seat as the cold hit her skin. She looked helplessly down at her shirt and hoped against hope that the teachers would take this time and come to her rescue.

"Have an accident, Granger?" Ron laughed leaning on Harry for support.

Hermione turned to look in the faces of her friends. Her tears of sadness now turned to tears of hurt. Her best friends laughed louder at the look on her face and the state she was in. She had had it! She had put of with their crap for nearly a month now. She couldn't stand to let this go by another second without acting on it. She snapped.

She grabbed the soaking wet napkin that was filled with pumpkin juice and swung it behind her using all the force she could possibly muster. **SMACK!** She made contact with something. When she let the cloth hit the floor, the entire room was silent. No one dared to breathe, let alone move. Even the teachers waited to see what would happen.

It turns out that she hit Harry first with it, and the swing continued to hit Ron in the face as well. They stared dumbly at her, juice running down their cheeks. Hermione panted, out of breath from such an emotion she had never felt before. She turned on her heel and stormed out of the Great Hall, every eye was upon her. The doors banged shut behind her as she continued to run.

While she ran, the rest of the Hall stood in silence. Ron dumbly turned to Harry, wiping his face free of the juice with his sleeve. "What just happened?"

Harry turned to look at the door Hermione had just left through and sighed. "We really lost her," he said simply.

**OK! So the first chapter is done! Tell me what you guys honestly think of it! Tell me the good the bad the beautiful the ugly everything you liked and didn't like! I love reviews just to let you know.**

**Please Review!**


	2. What In The Blaises Is Going On?

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter or any of the other characters in the books. Everything belongs to J.K. Rowling. But I'm sure ya'll knew that.

**Warnings:** This chapter has...a jumping off the ledge scene. Don't worry...I'm not evil. I don't think... Just for the record...this is a Gryffindor/Slytherin friendship fic. With Hermione and Draco as the peace bringers. (Yes, they are a couple later on) There are other pairings...but you'll have to wait for them.

**Authors Note:** So this is a new author's note to an old chapter. I just finished editing this chapter and I hope you guys like this product of it better than the original. If this is your first time even reading this chapter then be sure to review and let me know what you think of it. Thanks everyone!

Hermione ran until she couldn't anymore. There was stitch in her side, her arms ached as they rested by her side now longer pumping and pushing to run faster. When she looked around to see where she ended up she smiled softly to herself. She had ended up in a place she loved very much...the Astronomy Tower. It was her favorite place to go when she was feeling upset or lonely. She loved to look up at the stars and just think. People loved the Astronomy Tower for different reasons. They liked it because it was a place that the teachers never seemed to check so they could be alone without being interrupted. Hermione liked it because she could always go out onto the balcony and take in the beautiful Hogwarts scenery and the fresh air blowing softly from the direction of the Forbidden Forest; wafting in the sweet smells of trees and flowers. Mostly she loved the stars though.

They were beautiful that night. The night was crisp and clear. To her right she could just make out Orion's belt. She quickly spotted the big and little dipper. Letting her eyes wander she found her favorite star Sirius' Dog Star.

Thinking of Sirius pained her and tears threatened to fall again. Sixth year had been hard for her. Harry was distant from everyone and hated to talk about what happened in the Department of Mysteries. Ron didn't talk much in the first place, so Hermione was left to face her problems by herself.

Hermione swallowed hard thinking about the night that everyone thought that she betrayed Harry and Ron. Staring up at the stars she remembered that night...

_Hermione lay on the stone cold floor, scratching at it desperately with her nails trying to forget the pain. Voldemort raised his wand and the pain ended and the after math set in. Pain racked her body as she shook. But no matter how bad the pain was, she would always bite on her lip to keep from screaming. She didn't want to give him the satisfaction of hearing her give in. Within seconds she could taste the bitter steel flavor of blood flowing onto her taste buds. She shivered at the thought._

_  
"Now tell me," That high evil voice whispered with ultimate power. "What is it that makes Harry angry? What makes his blood boil? What makes him saddened beyond relief?"_

"Never! I will never tell you!" She shouted looking into his dead, red eyes. His eyes showed only one emotion in the entire time that she had been with him...pure loathing. He hated Harry and he hated 'mudblood filth' like her.

"Have it your way then," he said and with a flick of his wand, she was under the Cructicus Curse again. Hermione bit her lip again breaking open the almost healed chapped lips. It stung worse than the first time and she felt a tear run down her cheek and mix with the metallic blood. As she lie there writhing in pain, she though of Sirius with his strength and morals.

He would have never sold the Potters' out. He would have died before he told anyone anything about his best friends. Hermione had great respect for him. Peter was a coward and a fool to call himself a friend. Hermione decided in that moment that she would be like Sirius and die for her friends. She would die doing what she believed in. She would die standing up for what she thought was right. She wouldn't let her friends die because she was weak.

"Now, you have one last chance, you stupid mudblood! Tell me something about Harry!"

Hermione stayed silent, knowing that if she opened her mouth she would scream. Voldemort kicked her in the stomach and laughed evilly. She coughed and spurted gasping for air. "You will stay here until you tell me something useful then."

Hermione lost her sanity. She had been beaten and abused in so many ways in the last ten hours that she could stand it no longer. She knew she was bound to death. It was her only chance of leaving, and she took it. She lunged forward and scratched at Voldemort's face with her long ragged nails. Luckily this is not at all what Voldemort was expecting. Hermione herself was surprised she could even lift a hand in her current state, let alone attack someone.

He screamed in agony and she clawed with all her might in one powerful swipe. She felt his hot blood against her fingers and under her nails and she was satisfied. He pushed her off him and ordered two death eaters to take her away.

When they were out of the room Hermione used her last bit of strength. She gathered up as much as she could and let out a powerful burst of wandless energy that sent the death eaters off her. Wearily she wandered off into the night praying that they didn't follow her.

Hermione looked at the Sirius star, a tear falling down her cheek. "I should have died," she said to it. It twinkled merrily back at her, taunting her, as if to say, "Yes, you should have!"

Hermione leaned over the railing, holding onto it for support as sobs escaped her mouth. The ground looked so far beneath her. Before she knew what she was doing she was sitting on the railing looking at the ground at least twenty stories below her. No one was here to stop her. No one would have cared. But she couldn't bring herself to jump. Probably because someone was holding onto her arm easing her back onto the balcony safely. "Only a coward would do that. And I know you're no coward," they said to her softly.

"Ha! I am a coward. How am I not one?" Hermione said wiping away the tears blinded and not seeing her rescuer.

"I saw what you did to Potter and Weasley."

Hermione laughed a hollowly and turned to face her rescuer. She had to hold back a gasp of surprise as she saw Blaise Zabini standing in front of her.

Blaise was one of Malfoy's followers. She followed him where ever he went, along with Pansy Parkinson and occasionally Crabbe and Goyle. Blaise was one of the prettiest girls in the school and she knew it. She had long, black raven hair that flowed like an ocean wave. Her eyes were sharp and dark brown like she hid many secrets. Her eyelashes were black midnight and long giving her a mysterious look. She was rather skinny and where she was somewhat big, it wasn't fat, it was pure muscle.

That's why most people stayed their distance. Plus with Malfoy on her side you wouldn't just be dealing with her, but also with him. Crabbe and Goyle were an added bonus...or nightmare if you thought about it. Pansy was just there to add her hurtful words. Together they hurt many people.

"I've wanted to do that for a while now," Hermione said a smile coming to her lips for the first time in a couple weeks.

"I thought it was bloody brilliant." Blaise said leaning against the railing looking up at the stars. "Those egotistic jerks need to be put in their place, and I'm glad you did it for me."

Hermione flinched when she insulted them. Why, she didn't know. "And what exactly is their place?" Hermione asked interested in what Blaise would say.

Blaise glanced side-long at Hermione and studied her for a moment. Hermione felt self-conscience and straightened trying not to look intimidated. "Below people like us," She stated as if it was the only answer to such as silly question.

"Us?" Hermione asked laughing. "What is that suppose to mean?"

"Just that. It just means that people like us don't care what other people say; we go for what's inside. Potter and Weasley dumped you because of what people were saying. They didn't look beyond the surface."

"So you don't believe that I sold them out, huh?" Hermione asked almost laughing at the thought of someone finally believing her.

"You don't have the guts to," Blaise laughed.

Hermione's happy mood vanished. Her blood pounded in her ears. She had finally found someone who believed her and now they say that she doesn't have guts. Blaise had no idea what she was talking about! Guts are what Hermione Granger was made of! "I do to have guts! I've faced death and laughed in its face many times before! If that isn't guts, then I don't know what is!"

"Whatever you say, Granger." Blaise stood up to her full figure, rising a good two inches above Hermione. "But I don't judge books by their cover. That's why I hang out with Draco and Pansy. They're just misunderstood. The same goes for you. I can tell that you have strength that no other Gryffindor has, I'll give you that."

Hermione sighed. "I misjudged you, Zabini."

"Join the club," She laughed pushing away from the wall. They sat in silence for a moment before Blaise added as if on an afterthought, "Oh, and uh, call me Blaise."

"Why? You call me Granger." Hermione was puzzled. What is with her tonight? We hadn't said one word to each other that was even remotely friendly and now she wants me to call her by her first name?

"Because everyone deserves to be called by their first name, Hermione," she said simply, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"What about Harry and Ron then?" Hermione asked snidely.

"Ha! They show respect, I'll return it."

"Fair enough."

After that it seemed that conversation came easily for Blaise and Hermione. They weren't exactly friends, just people with a lot in common. People who didn't argue as much as they thought they would. They had never really talked before. After fighting with each other for many years it was nice to actually get to know someone.

It turns out that Blaise hated her deatheater parents. She had grown up without the proper care for a child. She had never been looked upon as an equal, but a slave or dirt. She had one little sister who was too young to come to Hogwarts yet. Blaise seemed to love to talk about her. Hermione could tell that she was full of love but only shared it with people who understood her.

They had many things in common. They loved Hogwarts: A History and loved to quote it to their friends. Hermione had laughed out loud when Blaise had said that she loved to read books over again. Blaise had never seemed to be the person who would read something. She was the type of person who you would think spent most of their time in the gym working on their muscle so they could pummel someone to the ground.

In the distance the clock chimed twelve times. Blaise looked at the clock tower glaring at it slightly. "I should be going now," she said standing up.

Hermione got up too glaring at the clock the same way Blaise did. "Me too, it's past curfew."

"You actually worry about that still?"

Hermione thought about it for a moment. She had been in more trouble lately. She didn't do her assignments like she use to. She wrote just the bear minimal on her essays and was always hounded in class to pay attention. No one said anything on her slipping grades though. They were too scared of her. "Well, I guess not."

They laughed. "Maybe we could meet here again tomorrow. Ha! I never thought I'd be inviting someone like you to hang out with me."

"Someone like me, huh?" Hermione asked in false anger.

"No, I just meant..."

Hermione cut her off. "Ya, that'd be great actually."

"Just don't tell anyone that we actually talk politely to each other," Blaise warned, fire blaring in her eyes.

Hermione laughed hollowly. "Like I would. No one speaks to me remember?" Hermione said icily.

"Right. See you tomorrow."

Blaise walked out of the tower leaving Hermione to her troubled thoughts.

Why had Blaise been nice to her? Hermione had never really been nice to her. What happened in the Great Hall after she left? When was Voldemort going to return? What would happen if someone found out that Hermione and Blaise now talked civilly to each other? Why had Blaise saved her life?

Of all the unanswered questions Hermione had, one troubled her the most:

_What in the blazes is happening?_

**Author's Note:** Well here ends Chapter Two! I'm rather happy with myself for the title of this chapter. It's something that anyone could have come up with, but I'm happy about it :D I am happy too with the reviews I got! Thanks to everyone who reviewed!

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	3. Secret Meetings

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter or any of the other stuff that you have read in the J.K. Rowling books. Everything belongs to her :D  
  
**Warnings:** None really for this chapter...clean! Well two cuss words...but ya know.  
  
**Author's Note:** I wanted to get this posted before I go to my orthodontist appointment tomorrow. I'm trying to update every four days. I probably won't be able to keep it up, but who knows. I have faith in me! For those reviewers who left a question...Luna G: Yes, the title will have a factor later on in the story. :D You spotted the title give away kudos! Sakshi: oh no, no, no, no, I would never make Hermione evil. No worries. I will just make her...un-damsel-in-distress! Maybe...just a little more...shielded is all. Don't worry she won't be evil.  
  
**Secret Meetings**  
  
Blaise and Hermione continued to meet almost every night up in the astronomy tower, out on the balcony on nice nights, so they could look at the stars. Sometimes they did homework together. They were becoming friends at a very fast rate, and that scared Hermione.  
  
Why Blaise has saved her life in the first place puzzled her. Why she even cared. Blaise had never said anything nice to Hermione _ever_, and now she confided in her when she needed someone to talk to. Blaise said it was because she could talk to Draco about girl things and she couldn't talk to Pansy because she was always hanging out with her boyfriend. Who her boyfriend was, Blaise wouldn't say. She said that it was personal and she was sworn to secrecy. Hermione respected her for that.  
  
Hermione was confiding in Blaise too. Not only was she sharing secrets with her that she had never even thought about sharing with Ron or Harry, but she was actually enjoying it. Things that seemed laughable before were talked about with all caution thrown into the wind.  
  
Blaise and Hermione's relationship brought new aspects out in Hermione. She wanted to be let loose. She didn't want to be the little damsel in distress like she had been when she was with Harry and Ron. She wanted to be able to stick up for herself. Blaise was teaching her how. It was a slow and painful process but it seemed to be working.  
  
Blaise taught her how to hide her emotions from all of those but the select few who know how to read a person no matter what. Hermione no longer cared what people taunted about her. She would keep doing whatever she was doing and ignore them completely. Hermione could sense Blaise on the other side of the classroom or Great Hall smile when she did this.  
  
The other aspect on being tougher was being able to fend for herself. Hermione had never really been a very physical person. She preferred to 'no touchie' rule and only hit someone when they deserved it. Even when they did deserve it though, she wasn't usually a wuss. She could punch and hit hard even before Blaise taught her how. So by the end, Hermione was a knock-out.  
  
On one particular night it was raining very hard and Hermione and Blaise were forced to stay inside the Astronomy classroom. It was an old room, probably one of the oldest rooms in Hogwarts. No matter how many times the house elves cleaned it, it always seemed to be dusty and the door always squeaked. Hermione sat in a desk that had various scratching on it, doing her potions essay, or rather trying to. It was impossibly hard. Damn Snape! Blaise sat next to her in a desk in about the same condition reading over her charms essay.  
  
Blaise slammed a fist down on the table almost making Hermione jump and sending dust particles into the air. Hermione watched the particles for a while and then focused on Blaise. "What's wrong?" she asked.  
  
"I can't do this! Why is the wingardium leviousa charm so damn important in the path of charms history?" She fumed not hiding her emotion like Hermione had been taught. She would have commented on it, but decided that now wasn't the time or the place for that.  
  
Hermione remembered the time Ron and Harry had saved her life with the charm. Harry was being held upside down by the troll. Hermione had felt like her world had come crashing down and this was the end. But Ron shouted the incantation at the troll's club. Hermione had been so proud of him for saying it right. She smiled slightly at the thought.  
  
"Now you're laughing at me!" Blaise said angrily.  
  
"No I'm not! I'm just remembering something." Hermione tried to explain only ending up smiling wider at the look on Blaise's face.  
  
"It's important because Melody Goshawk used it to help build Hogwarts. She built it with just a few bricks. From that one spell she rearranged the words to make more bricks and thus the castle was made." A voice said from somewhere in the room. Hermione swore she had heard that voice somewhere before, but couldn't place it.  
  
Blaise laughed, while Hermione looked around for the owner of the voice. After a moment of looking around the room with her eyes she saw that Blaise was smiling the widest she had ever seen her smile. "What?" she asked indigently.  
  
"Pansy has an invisibility cloak." When Blaise had said that Pansy appeared from out of no where a small smile on her face.  
  
Pansy was also very pretty. She had very short auburn hair that ended at her chin. Here eyes were bright blue and she was very small and petite. Although, Hermione thought that she could smack her pretty hard if she wanted to, she doubted now that she would be able to. Pansy had an air around her that seemed to say, "Stay away from me!" Pansy wasn't a girl to mess around with and Hermione knew it well.  
  
"Blaise, what in the hell are you doing here?" Pansy hissed.  
  
Blaise looked at Hermione and back to Pansy, flinching slightly. "Well...there's something I've been meaning to tell you."  
  
"I can see that now," Pansy said snottily looking at Hermione. Hermione stood up straight trying to be the bigger person. Pansy snorted and rounded on Blaise again. "Explain yourself."  
  
Blaise plunged into the story about how Hermione and her had become fast friends. Pansy would roll her eyes every once in a while and cluck her tongue in disgust. When she had finished the story Pansy stood deathly still for a few moments and then walked over to Hermione seizing her up with her eyes.  
  
Hermione didn't back down. In fact she met the gaze with a gaze of her own. Even though Blaise had told her this instruction countless times before she knew by instinct not to back down. Backing down would be letting her have an easy victory. Hermione wasn't about to let that happen. Pansy circled around to see if Hermione would back down. When she was back in front of Hermione again she half smiled.  
  
"I read you wrong, Granger," she said laughing a little.  
  
"How so?" Hermione asked crossing her arms over her chest. Blaise knew this was a gesture clearly showing that she was uncomfortable but Pansy didn't seem to notice.  
  
"I would have thought that you would have told in the first place." Hermione's eyes flashed with red anger and Pansy's mouth twitched into something that was threatening to become a smile. "When you didn't I would have thought for sure that you would back down, but you didn't. That takes guts."  
  
Slowly, Hermione's anger ebbed away. "According to Blaise, I don't have guts," Hermione joked slightly.  
  
Pansy smiled, her perfect white teeth showing. "Blaise is the one without guts," she said sticking her tongue out playfully at Blaise. Blaise lunged forward to attack her, an evil smile on her face. Pansy laughed and ran away running through desks to avoid her. They were both laughing hysterically when they had finished chasing each other. Throughout the chase Hermione watched in fascination.  
  
Blaise and Pansy were normal teenage girls. They had the same problems Hermione did. Heck, they had the same problems Lavender, Parvati, and Padama had! Once you dug past the surface you got to know the real them and appreciated who they really were. Hermione silently thanked her lucky stars for this blessing in disguise. "You two are different than what I expected you to be," she said when they sat down.  
  
"And the same with you." Pansy said. "I never though I would be friends with someone who was a friend with Hermione Bookworm 'Traitor' Granger," she said using the air quotes on traitor.  
  
Hermione flinched at the word traitor. "I'm not a traitor!" she said calmly, but with force.  
  
"I can see that now," Pansy smiled.  
  
So from then on their secret meetings now included Pansy. Pansy was reluctant at first. She didn't want to get caught. Blaise was at the point now that she didn't care too much. Hermione was grateful to have her life somewhat back on track. She now had two friends. Life seemed...normal.  
  
"You know what?" Blaise said one evening dropping her quill and shutting her book. Pansy looked up at her with a raised eyebrow forgetting about her book for a moment. Hermione rolled over so that she wasn't looking at the stars but at her face. "We should tell, Draco."  
  
Pansy dropped her book. Hermione sat up straight looking at her like she had grown another head. "You're mental," Pansy said picking her book up and dusting it off.  
  
"But if we both misjudged Hermione, then maybe he did too." Blaise argued back.  
  
"Uh, no! We might be misjudged by everyone and seem very mean on the outside, but Draco is mean!" Pansy stated.  
  
"Plus, you guys never hated me as much as Malfoy does," Hermione added.  
  
They looked at her for a moment with raised eyebrows and laughing eyes. "Ok maybe you did." Hermione said sheepishly.  
  
"Seriously, Blaise that would be the death of all of us. If Draco found out that we were friends with Hermione first he would kill her, and then us," Pansy stated with wide eyes.  
  
But Blaise didn't seem convinced. "We know him better than that, though. He would accept it. He doesn't care what we do, just as long as he doesn't have to do it too. Besides, I'm sick of hiding it. I want to hang out with Hermione in class! Don't you?"  
  
"Well," Pansy began. She looked into Blaise's big puppy dog eyes and gave in. "Of course I do! But telling Draco right now might not be a good idea. Just wait a while more?" It ended as a question, but Pansy was trying to make it a statement.  
  
"No, I don't want to hide it anymore. We tell him now."  
  
Everything was deathly quite for what seemed like hours. Blaise looked at Pansy with wide puppy-dog eyes. Hermione sat back and wanted Pansy to shout, "No! Never! We shall never tell him!" Her hopes were shattered when Pansy sighed. "Fine," she said.  
  
"Do I get a say in this?" Hermione asked knowing the answer.  
  
"No," they answered together.  
  
"But Malfoy is my sworn enemy. We haven't ever said anything civil toward each other. I'm sure he hates me with every fiber of his being. I'm positive that he does, actually," Hermione said desperately.  
  
"That may be. But we'll give it a try anyway," Blaise said. The clock chimed twelve and Blaise and Pansy packed their things. "Tomorrow night we'll see how things work out." Pansy said passing Hermione. They left Hermione on the balcony worrying about what tomorrow would be like.  
  
**Authors Note:** Well, there goes chapter three! Wow, it seems like it should be longer to me. :P oh well! By the way, thanks to everyone who reviewed! I love the reviews. They give me fuel! Sorry no review topic. I'm so tired. I can't pick one! Its 12:31 and I need to go to sleep. G'night!  
  
**PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!**


	4. The Dreaded Day

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter and the related people. Everything belongs to J.K. Rowling...props to her!  
  
**Warnings:** Hm, none for this chapter :D  
  
**Author's Note:** Well, nothing really new. Here's another chapter. Thanks to Brooks for reviewing :D I appreciate it.  
  
**The Dreaded Night  
**  
Hermione woke the next morning with a sense of uneasiness. Malfoy had never liked her. She was a _mudblood_ she didn't even qualify as a good servant to him. Blaise and Pansy were the only Slytherins to ever talk to her and the only ones that ever would. Blaise and Pansy were the friends that Hermione had thought Harry and Ron were.  
  
Pansy was surprisingly smart. Hermione had always thought of her as one of the stupidest people she had ever met, when really she was almost as smart as Hermione. She valued her grades just as much anyway. Blaise was adventuress. She loved to go on adventures and was always in trouble or in the hospital wing for doing something. She was smart too, but not in potions. That's where most of her injuries came from. But she still seemed to be one of Snape's favorite students.  
  
Together they had a friendship that nothing would tear apart. And they always promised that nothing would. They would always hear the version of the story according to someone else before the pointed any fingers. They did that for Hermione, and she was thankful for it.  
  
But when they did point fingers, that person usually got something. It was never Hermione, Pansy, or Blaise that said anything about anyone. It was what someone else said. And when they found who that person was, Blaise would go 'talk' to them. If they were lucky Pansy was with them and Pansy would talk Blaise out of doing something that she would have regretted. If Hermione would have been there, she would calm Blaise down too, but she couldn't be seen with them yet.  
  
Not until tonight...tomorrow officially. Hermione sighed and got out of bed. She quickly showered and got dressed. Unlike most days, she decided she would put her hair up. She put it in a messy bun and left a few pieces hanging loosely in her face. She liked the freedom it gave her.  
  
Lavender got out of bed and yawned. She stretched for a moment and then gasped. "Oh, Granger, I didn't hear you get up," she said as she grabbed a towel and headed for the showers.  
  
"That's because I was being quite," Hermione whispered to herself. Parvati stirred from her bed and got out of bed gracefully. Every move she took was full of grace, and Hermione hated her for it.  
  
"Good Morning, Granger," she said smiling evilly. Hermione smiled the fakest smile she had ever smiled and Parvati's smile fell off her face. She went into the bathroom and slammed the door. Hermione grinned to herself. Anything that made Parvati scowl made Hermione smile.  
  
As Hermione was leaving the dorm Parvati and Lavender came out of the bathrooms talking rather loudly. Hermione was about to shut the door behind her but left it open a crack to hear them.  
  
"I'm in love!" Parvati's voice screeched. "I can't believe I'm saying this! Ron's the greatest! The way he kisses is just so magical!"  
  
Hermione's breath caught in her throat. She was over Ron, but it still hurt her to have people talk about him or Harry. She hated Parvati for stealing Ron's love and for stealing Harry's love.  
  
"Oh, Parv, that's great! It's so awesome that you're going out with Ron and Padama is going out with Harry. It's the greatest. You guys are going to be so popular when this is through!" Lavender gushed.  
  
Harry was going out with Padama? Hermione felt like a knife was being repeatedly stabbed into her back. She hated the Patil twins more than she hated Malfoy. They had said some nasty things about her. Not only behind her back but to her face. When she was friends with Harry and Ron they hated them almost as much as she did. Now it seemed they were just doing this to get back at her.  
  
"I know! It's all working out the way I planned it to!"  
  
Hermione couldn't take it anymore. She ran down the stairs running to get some breakfast and go sit on the balcony. Today was a Saturday, so there were no classes. She had the whole day to herself. That's what she was grateful for. She didn't want to be around anyone right now anyway.  
  
She entered the common room. No one was around. They were all probably upstairs still sleeping. Hermione rose with the sun. So did Lavender and Parvati. It was a curse.  
  
Hermione made her way toward the portrait door. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw something in the fire.  
  
Blaise's head was in the fire's flames. "Blaise?" Hermione asked not wanting to believe that she was actually talking to her via flames.  
  
"Hermione! I was hoping to get to you! If I didn't I was going to scare some Gryffindors, but I'm glad I found you!"  
  
"What do you need me for?" Hermione asked sitting Indian style in front of the fire.  
  
Blaise sighed. "It's about Pansy..."  
  
"What happened?" Hermione asked looking gravely serious.  
  
"Her parents. They were taken. Her father was taken to Azkaban for being a death eater. They would take her mother, but she's pregnant. They don't take pregnant people to Azkaban."  
  
"Oh, my gosh! What does Pansy say about it?" Hermione's heart went out to her friend.  
  
"I can't find her! Hermione you have to help me find her! She might do something drastic. She hated her parents, as you know, but now she has no where to go!"  
  
Hermione nodded her head. "Meet me in the usual place in five minutes. I'll be there."  
  
Blaise nodded and her head vanished from the fire. Hermione hurriedly got up from her spot on the rug and ran toward the door. She didn't make it to the door though because she bumped into something though and flew backwards landing hard on her back. Pain sprung into her back as she shot upright.  
  
She looked around for something that she had run into, but didn't see anything around. Her eyes widened when Harry and Ron materialized in front of her. "Lost one of your precious Death Eaters?" Ron spat at her.  
  
Hermione stared at him; he looked down at her his eyes full of hatred. "No! Of course not!" she defended herself.  
  
"Then why were you in contact with Zabini? Why are you worried about Parkinson? You hate them," Harry said crossing his arms over his chest.  
  
"They're my friends. How would you know I hate them? You obviously aren't my friends and never were." Hermione said standing up and dusting herself off.  
  
"Obviously." A voice said from the stairway. Hermione saw Parvati saunter up to Ron and kiss him passionately in front of her. Hermione looked away; as did Harry.  
  
"'Morning Sweetie," Ron said huskily. Hermione wanted to throw up.  
  
"If they were your friends, you wouldn't have betrayed them," Parvati said hugging Ron tightly.  
  
Ever since the incident that summer, Hermione was quick to lose her temper, and her control. She stepped forward and slapped Parvati hard across her cheek. Parvati screeched and shot toward her, but Hermione was hoping for that. All the training that Blaise had given her was finally going to be put to use!  
  
Harry put an arm out to stop her though. Parvati stopped immediately looking at him like he was mad. "Harry, what are you doing?" She shouted ready for a fight.  
  
"She's not worth your time," he said icily looking at Hermione.  
  
"That's right, it's just a waste of time," Ron said just as cold looking at Hermione so she got the point.  
  
They thought she was just a waste of their time. She felt so useless at that moment. She ran from the common room and straight to the astronomy tower tears rolling down her cheeks. She got to the tower before Blaise did. She leaned against the railing and sobbed.  
  
She hated it. She loved them so much. She was more of a sister to them. It hurt her so much to know that they hated her. But no matter what they said to her she continued to love them.  
  
They called her names, they pulled pranks on her, and worse they ignored her. Nothing they did would ever make her stop loving them though. She wished she could just stop it all. She wanted to not love them. To move on. They had, why couldn't she?  
  
Because she knew she was innocent. She knew they were being blinded and couldn't see the truth and she knew she would love them until they saw the truth. Hermione was sobbing so hard that she didn't hear Blaise come up behind her.  
  
However, she did feel the hand on her shoulder. Hermione turned to look at her friend. Blaise smiled slightly and opened her arms to her. Hermione rushed into them and hugged tight, needing the hug. She hadn't hugged anyone in so long. She let her emotions flow out with her tears, and Blaise was there to comfort her through it all. She didn't even ask for an explanation, she just offered herself to her.  
  
When Hermione couldn't shed another tear, she looked up at Blaise. "Thanks," she said smiling for the first time.  
  
"That's what friends are for." Blaise said. "And that's why we need to go find, Pansy. She needs what you needed."  
  
Hermione nodded and they set off to find her. They searched almost the whole day. Wherever they went they couldn't find her. Either Pansy was a good hider, or they weren't good at looking for people.  
  
After three hours of endless searching Hermione sighed. "Where could she be? We've searched almost everywhere!"  
  
"Then why didn't you check my room?" Pansy said turning a corner in front of them. Blaise and Hermione jumped on her enveloping her in a hug. Pansy smiled and hugged her best friends back with full force.  
  
"Pansy, don't you ever scare us like that again!" Hermione said as she squeezed her.  
  
"I won't, I promise."  
  
They laughed at her inside joke. They heard footsteps approaching, but it was too late to untangle themselves. Hermione didn't have time to slip away to ensure that they weren't seen together. "Well, what do we have here?" A familiar voice asked.  
  
Hermione spun around to see none other than Draco Malfoy leaning against the wall, his arms crossed in front of his chest. His platinum blonde hair hung in front of his icy blue eyes hiding emotion.  
  
"Draco!" Blaise shouted. "We were just...uh...we were just," she tried to explain.  
  
"I know what you were doing. But why in the hell were you doing it?" he asked standing up straight and walking up to her. Up close he was a good two inches taller than her. This meant that Hermione was four inches shorter than him, she swallowed a cough.  
  
"Because, we're her friends," Pansy said standing up straight as well. "And if you have something to say about it, I'd like to hear it."  
  
Malfoy looked at his best friends and then at Hermione. His gaze bore into her and she didn't back down. He circled around her like Pansy had done examining her from every angle. When he finished he frowned.  
  
"Just as I expected. You're still a know-it-all who thinks she's better than the world. I would have thought that you would have changed."  
  
Hermione's eyes flashed. "I do not think I'm better than the world. I'm not a know-it-all. I like to study, is that such a crime?" She was finally standing up for herself. Outside, Hermione was calm and collected but inside she was smiling and trembling with fear. She knew that Malfoy could do something horrible to her, but she smiled because for once she was sticking up for herself. 'After all these years I finally do it,' she thought to herself.  
  
Malfoy smirked. "You didn't just run behind your friends that time."  
  
"I never ran behind my friends. There were plenty of times I would have said something, but they beat me to it."  
  
Malfoy laughed hollowly. "The point is, Draco that we've been friends with her for a while now. We wanted to tell you in a different way, but it seems too late for that now," Blaise explained.  
  
"Yes, it does seem to be that way." Malfoy stood still for a moment. "Just don't expect me to welcome you with open arms, Granger. You keep your distance and I'll keep mine."  
  
"Like I would want to be friends with you anyway," Hermione shot back.  
  
"Fiery," He said smirking.  
  
"You got it," Hermione responded smiling slightly to herself too.  
  
Malfoy walked off heading to the Great Hall for lunch. Hermione turned to Blaise and Pansy. They put they're elbows out and Hermione greatly took one of each. They entered the Great Hall together, linked forever as friends.  
  
**Author's Note:** Whoosh, Chapter Four Done :D I hope you guys liked it. Draco does seem a little nicer but don't worry, he's still the bad-assed Slytherin we all love. :) That will come out more in the next chapter. So anyway, thanks for the reviews I've gotten so far and don't forget you can always review more than on chapter ;)  
  
**PLEASE REVIEW!!!**


	5. Reactions

**Disclaimer:** Nope, none of it is mine. Well, you know...other than the plot.  
  
**Warnings:** None for this chapter really. Just a little bit about...attacks. Nothing goes into detail though.  
  
**Author's Note:** Well, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Thanks to everyone who reviewed :D They make me happy. And to Lindy Yes, I love Ron too :) he's so adorable!  
  
**Reactions**  
  
As they entered the hall, everyone did exactly what Hermione wanted them to do and exactly what she didn't want them to do.  
  
They were speechless.  
  
No one talked as Hermione sat between Blaise and Pansy. They didn't say a word when they sat directly across from Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle. No one said anything as the five of them ate their lunch like nothing had happened.  
  
Hermione felt rather self conscious as everyone stared at her eating. Usually people were looking the other way and not at her and she wasn't use to all the attention. Pansy and Blaise kept on smiling like fools. Malfoy glared at his food while Crabbe and Goyle just chomped away happily at their food. All of the other Slytherins seemed to get the point that they weren't going to tell and started to eat again too.  
  
But everyone else, including the teachers, was silent. At the teachers table Hagrid dropped his fork the sound scaring some people. McGonagal looked like she was going to faint. Only Snape and Dumbledore seemed to smile.  
  
As for the students...it was a different world. Ravenclaw sat silently. They continued eating but didn't speak. Hufflepuff, the house of gossip began to whisper silently but not eating any of their food. Only Gryffindor did neither. They sat in completer shock.  
  
Harry's face was priceless. He looked as if he had just seen a child being born. Ron's face was bright red with anger. Padama looked extremely...jealous. Harry pounded the table with his fist and stood up. Ron looked at Harry for a second then quickly followed. They strode over to the Slytherin table where Hermione sat with her 'friends'.  
  
"Dumbledore, don't you think you should do something?" McGonagal whispered her worries to him.  
  
"Watch. It will work out," he replied smiling.  
  
"What in the bloody hell do you think you're doing, Granger?" Harry thundered.  
  
Hermione looked innocently around her examining the Slytherins around her. "You see, Potter, this is what we call 'having lunch'." she said sarcastically. A few Slytherins sniggered.  
  
"Why are you having lunch over here is what he means smarty pants." Ron stated.  
  
"Oh, that one hurt her," Malfoy laughed taking a bite of his salad. Hermione snorted.  
  
"I don't remember asking for an opinion, Malfoy," Harry said icily.  
  
"That's because you didn't ask for one," Pansy laughed.  
  
Harry's face turned red. "Relax, I'm just eating lunch. Last time I checked it wasn't a crime." Hermione said continuing her lunch.  
  
"Double crosser!" Ron shouted. Everyone heard his voice boom out in the hall stabbing the almost silence like a knife to the heart. People gasped and looked at Ron with pride and anger mixed on their faces.  
  
The reaction from such a simple statement was enormous. Hermione dropped the pitcher of lemonade she was holding. The sound of breaking glass filled everyone's ears. Pansy, Blaise, Crabbe, Goyle, Malfoy, and Hermione all jumped up. If they jumped up to get out of the way of the juice or just to defend Hermione, Hermione didn't know. She knew that Blaise and Pansy had jumped up for both reasons but by the look on Malfoy and the two big goons he calls friends faces they jumped up to not be hit with the lemonade.  
  
"What did you just call me?" She asked through gritted teeth.  
  
Ron looked at Crabbe and Goyle. His gaze landed on Malfoy and he smirked. "I just called you a double crosser," he repeated.  
  
"I--am--not--a--double--crosser!" Hermione shouted through deep breaths.  
  
"Liar!" Harry shouted. "First you leave us to join a bunch of Death Eater trash! Now you leave the entire Gryffindor house to sit with them!" Harry waved his arm around him to indicate the Slytherin table.  
  
Hermione looked helplessly at Harry and Ron begging them to understand her predicament. The Slytherins all shot daggers at Harry for practically saying they were scum. "Death eater trash?" she shouted. "Want to see something Harry?" Hermione asked looking at him fire flashing across her eyes.  
  
Harry just glared at her. "No, I'd rather not."  
  
"Too bad!" She screeched and she undid the button on her blouse sleeve pulling it up to reveal her tan bare arm.  
  
"Wow, nice tan, Granger!" Ron said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.  
  
"Shut up, Ron! If I were really a follower of Voldemort I would have the stupid death mark!" Everyone in the hall gasped at the use of Voldemort's name. Malfoy looked at Hermione with an unreadable expression on his face. Was it pride? "Oh, would you people just get over it? Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself!" Hermione shouted to the rest of the hall.  
  
"That doesn't mean you're not a follower or a spy," Ron stated sticking his nose in the air.  
  
Hermione whipped out her wand and pointed it right between Ron's eyes. Malfoy stepped to the side so he wasn't in range of the spell. "Give me a reason to hurt you, and I will," she spoke calmly.  
  
With Hermione you could tell she was mad or upset about something when she spoke calmly without yelling at you. She had only been this mad a few times in her life and those times were rather memorable in Harry and Ron's life. They didn't want a repeat of that.  
  
"Like you would," Harry said. Hermione moved her wand to point at Harry now.  
  
"Don't tempt me."  
  
Pansy and Blaise took their wands out too. Harry looked back and forth and knew they were against an unstoppable force. Harry grabbed Ron by the sleeve and they went back to the Gryffindor table, their ego broken into pieces.  
  
Hermione smiled and snorted at their foolishness. Right when Harry and Ron sat down the whole hall burst into talk.  
  
Hermione fixed the juice and sat down again trying to cool off. Pansy and Blaise didn't speak to her understanding that she didn't want to be talked to. Crabbe and Goyle just went back to eating like nothing had happened. Malfoy stared at her for a moment.  
  
His eyes looked hard into Hermione's eyes and she shivered. She narrowed her eyes at him but he didn't back off. Instead he just got a confused expression on his face, like he was trying to read something out of her.  
  
Then out of no where Malfoy grabbed Hermione's wrist and brought her arm down to examine it. "Where did you get these?" Malfoy asked tracing four scraggly scars down her arm unto her wrist.  
  
Hermione looked at the scars herself suddenly getting the chills. "A long time ago."  
  
She tried to pull her arm away, but Malfoy tightened his grip. "It's fresh."  
  
Blaise and Pansy leaned over to examine her arm too. Blaise got an idea and grabbed Hermione's other arm. She rolled the sleeve up and saw almost identical scars on the other arm. "Hermione, what happened?"  
  
Hermione shook her head and tried to get her hands away from them, but they wouldn't give in. "Nothing, all right? It's just something that happened."  
  
"Who did this to you?" Pansy voiced touching a scar herself and quickly pulling her hand away.  
  
"No one just drop it alright?" Hermione whispered.  
  
Malfoy let her wrist drop to the table. "Are you that much of a coward to try and kill yourself?"  
  
"No. Maybe? I don't know. I just remember not wanting to scream. I wouldn't give in and scream. I had to do something to occupy my mind. To get the pain away," Hermione said recalling the memory.  
  
"Scratching yourself would get rid of the pain?" Pansy asked her eyebrows almost hidden in her hair line they were so high from her questioning glare.  
  
Hermione glared at her for a moment then softened her gaze. "It was a mental attack. Any physical attack wasn't to my arms."  
  
Blaise shivered visibly. Pansy straightened. "Hermione," she began.  
  
"I don't want to talk about it," Hermione said standing from the table and leaving the Great Hall. Everyone's gaze followed her.  
  
Three people got up and followed her out.  
  
**Author's Note:** Ok, so what did you think of this chapter? It's a little shorter than the usual ones but it still held some useful information, right? I hope so. The next chapter should be up soon. I must warn you though I have finals coming up. Yes, I take school all year long. :D I love school, but anyway I might not update for a while after my next update, just to let you know. Hopefully I will be able to, but I must study if I want to get the top grades :D  
  
**PLEASE REVIEW!!!**


	6. Seven Minutes In Hell?

**Disclaimer:** Magically, I am now J.K. Rowling and instead of spending my time making millions and out talking to my adoring fans, I'm on the computer writing a fanfiction. It's how I now get my kicks in giggles! If anyone believed that, e-mail me, you can use my psychiatrist!  
  
**Warnings:** Hm, for this chapter, just a little talk about...uncomfortable subjects...nothing major, no worries. Oh, and maybe a little use of the 'h' word. It's not really a swear word to me, but some people feel it is.  
  
**Author's Note:** Thanks to SpazySange you made me feel all warm and fuzzy. I didn't think anyone would be 'on the edge of their seats' but I'm glad you were. Thanks to everyone else who reviewed too! Luv ya guys!  
  
Oh! This chapter is named after that game. Seven minutes in Heaven. You know the one where you go in the closet and make out for seven minutes. Supposedly, I've never played it before.  
  
**Seven Minutes In...Hell?**  
  
Hermione walked calmly toward the Gryffindor common room. She traced the scars on her left hand absentmindedly. She reached the portrait of the fat lady. She stood in her regular place looking down at Hermione. Hermione was perhaps one of the only people the fat lady was nice to. But like everything else, that was before she had a run in with Voldemort.  
  
"Password?" She hissed at her.  
  
Hermione looked at her, tears in her eyes. "Forget it," she said walking away, not paying attention to where she was going.  
  
She walked for a good half hour before she realized that she didn't know where she was. Somehow or another she had ended up in the dungeons. They were all cold and dreary. They didn't seem the type of place where you seem very invited into. Hermione shivered. The dungeons were cold and she wasn't familiar with where she was. 'Just great,' she thought.  
  
"Lost?" Blaise asked coming out from the shadows. Malfoy and Pansy came out behind her.  
  
"Can you tell?" Hermione asked smiling slightly.  
  
"Just a little," Pansy smirked.  
  
"Hermione, we need to talk." Blaise said grabbing her hand before she could reject to it.  
  
"But..."  
  
"No, this is serious," Pansy explained said turning to a portrait. "Pure loyalty." Instantly the painting swung open revealing a hole in the wall.  
  
"But, this is the Slytherin Common Room," Hermione began to protest.  
  
"Which is why no one will be here," Pansy said sitting down on a couch. Hermione followed suit looking around.  
  
It wasn't as gloomy as she thought it would be. It was dark, sure, but it wasn't unwelcoming.  
  
The torches reflected green light and they had a marble floor that was shining like new. The couches and chairs were made of leather and felt like a cloud to sit on. It was rather warm and a fire cackled in the distance.  
  
"Hermione, what happened at lunch," Pansy began.  
  
"Like I said, I don't want to talk about it." Hermione turned away.  
  
"I didn't ask if you wanted to talk about it. I said we're going to talk about it!" Pansy said forcefully.  
  
Hermione looked around at each face and decided that it was a losing battle anyway. It was her against the three most powerful witches and wizard she had ever known.  
  
"Hermione, who did this really?" Pansy asked touching her arm slightly.  
  
"I did," Hermione said in a stone hard voice completely dead of emotion.  
  
"What? Why in the hell would you do that?"  
  
"I don't know. I was cold. Voldemort was trying to make me say _anything_ about Harry, but I wouldn't. He finally went into my mind and made me relive my worst memories. I wanted it all to end. I scratched at my arm to get my mind off it and try to block the attack. My nails broke on one arm so I went to the other. I remember trying not to scream. I didn't want to give him the satisfaction of hearing me scream. It's all he wanted and I wouldn't give it to him.  
  
"I relived everything. Even being teased as a young girl by everyone in my school. That was before I knew I was a witch. I relived coming to Hogwarts and going through the same thing. The first time Malfoy called me a mudblood," Malfoy looked away looking into the fire like it had somehow just become the most interesting thing in the world. "The troll, the basilisk, werewolves, the department of mysteries, and what had occurred there that day. Everything came back full force."  
  
"But you didn't give in?" Blaise asked knowing the answer but wanting to hear it from her.  
  
"No. I wanted to die. I didn't want to give in all the secrets and then die like I was some useless tool in his big plan."  
  
"You have guts, kid," Blaise said squeezing her hand.  
  
Hermione laughed slightly. "According to you, I didn't have any."  
  
Blaise smiled. "I misread you again," she said squeezing again.  
  
Malfoy sat in the corner of the room not talking to anyone. Hermione, Blaise, and Pansy switched topics after a while knowing that when Hermione was ready to talk that she would. Every once in a while Malfoy would make a smart comment and Hermione would have a comeback for him. Blaise and Pansy would laugh occasionally at what they said to each other. After a while Slytherins began to start filing in.  
  
"What's she doing here?" Goyle asked in his low voice.  
  
"Talking. Got a problem with it, Gregory?" Blaise asked putting on fake sweetness with each word.  
  
Goyle shook his head and continued on to his dorm. Crabbe stopped and looked at Hermione for a moment. Pansy straightened a little. "Don't tell me you have a problem with it," she stated glaring at him.  
  
"No," he replied. Draco rolled his eyes. Crabbe was one of the dumbest people he knew.  
  
The other Slytherins didn't seem to care that Hermione was there; just as long as she didn't bother them or talk to them. Hermione smiled slightly to herself. Everything was coming back in her life. She had the two best friends that she always wanted. Not everyone hated her and she didn't care who did.  
  
Well, maybe she did. She cared that Harry and Ron did. She didn't care who else hated her. Her own parents could hate her for all she cared, but just as long as they didn't. But the sad truth was that they did. Hermione sighed.  
  
"Granger, don't you have to get back to your housemates soon?" Malfoy asked hesitating on the word housemates. He would have made a smart comment but decided that now wasn't the time.  
  
"You seem happy to be rid of me," Hermione said gazing at her watch. "Bloody Hell I didn't know it was this late! Ya, I better be going back. I'll see you guys at dinner." Hermione bounded out the portrait and started down the hall. She took a left and then a few more turns and quickly remembered that she had no clue where she was. After continuing her search for anything that sparked her memory, and finding none, she growled in frustration.  
  
"Did you forget that you don't know your way around here?" Malfoy's cold voice asked from behind her.  
  
Hermione spun around and glared at him. "I didn't forget. I just..."  
  
"Forgot. Right."  
  
Hermione growled lightly in anger. "I'll get out sometime soon."  
  
"I'll time you then," he said pressing a button on his wizard's watch.  
  
Hermione scowled at him and continued on her way becoming increasingly annoyed at the tick of Malfoy's watch and his heavy footsteps behind her. She turned endless corners and didn't see anything that even looked vaguely familiar. After five minutes of searching she retraced her steps and couldn't even find the Slytherin Common Room.  
  
"Need some hints?" Malfoy asked rubbing the fact that she didn't know where she was in her face.  
  
"No." She said sternly determined to find out on her own.  
  
The search continued and Hermione had almost snapped.  
  
"Six minutes and ten seconds. Six minutes and eleven seconds. Six minutes and twelve seconds," Malfoy drawled smirking to himself as Hermione rounded on him.  
  
"Would you shut up?" she yelled at him. She was sure she yelled so loud that people in the Gryffindor tower could have heard her.  
  
"No," he replied smugly.  
  
"Argh!" she screeched and turned on her heal to resume searching. "This is like..."  
  
"Six minutes and sixteen seconds," Malfoy said almost reading her mind.  
  
"Of Hell!" she finished not caring enough to wonder how he knew what she had been thinking.  
  
"Isn't it supposed to be seven minutes in Heaven?" Malfoy asked smirking yet again as she took another wrong turn.  
  
"Malfoy, with you, it sure wouldn't be seven minutes in Heaven," Hermione smirked at him from over her shoulder. His smirk fell off his face and was replaced with an annoyed scowl.  
  
She continued for a little more and then found the way to the Great Hall. "Yes!" Hermione said grinning broadly.  
  
"And it only took you..." Malfoy stopped his watch. "Seven minutes. All they Slytherins usually take a right after coming out of the portraits and they're here in less than a minute," he said sarcastically.  
  
"No one asked for a comment," Hermione said continuing her way to the Gryffindor Common Room.  
  
"People don't always ask for things, but they get them just the same," he said.  
  
Hermione turned around to look at him. For the first time she examined him very closely. He had grown up over the years. When they started Hogwarts together he hadn't grown into his face. Now his face was very masculine and he looked more than just seventeen. He had high cheek bones that were tinted ever so slightly the lightest shade of pink that Hermione had ever seen. In fact she almost over looked it taking it as the lighting in the room, but it seemed so natural that it couldn't be anything else.  
  
His eyes were dark silver or a light blue. Hermione couldn't tell what they truly were. They had both colors mixed in them making it hard to tell his true eye color. His platinum blonde hair wasn't gelled back anymore but fell into his face. His bangs came down and hid his eyes every once in a while making it hard to tell what emotion he was having.  
  
Although you could never really tell what kind of emotion he was having. He always had masks around him so that no one got passed the bad boy image he set up for himself. His bad boy attitude made it almost impossible for anyone to get close to him. Pansy and Blaise had only done it because they're parents were friends and they were together a lot when they were little. The same went with Crabbe and Goyle. At the moment his hair was out of his face and Hermione could see emotion flicker in his dark mesmerizing orbs. It was an emotion that she couldn't read, but it seemed very strong, the way it flickered and danced.  
  
With Draco's broad shoulders and tough face it was hard not to be intimidated by him. He was known for being a heart breaker to the women and a jaw breaker to the men. He was always going out with someone new and always making them think that he was in love with them, only to turn around and break their heart. When the man came around that actually did love the girl they would confront Malfoy and he would punch them square in the jaw. Hermione doubted that he had ever actually broken someone's jaw, but it just made the point bigger that he was known to punch a good one.  
  
"Where did you hear that from?" Hermione asked shaking her head and continuing walking.  
  
"I didn't hear it from anywhere. I just said it," Malfoy said following her.  
  
"You said it?" Hermione asked disbelievingly. Malfoy was smart, she'd give him that. But he never seemed to be the type that had much common sense.  
  
"Didn't you hear me say it?" He asked angrily.  
  
Hermione ignored him and turned a corner and bumped into Ron, Harry, and Parvati. She flew back and would have hit the ground if Malfoy hadn't caught her. She gasped as his arms wrapped themselves around her. They were the strongest arms she had ever felt. He seemed to pick her up with ease and set her back straight. For that brief moment Hermione had felt like nothing else mattered as long as he was there with her. 'What in the world am I thinking?!' Hermione scolded herself. She blushed and smiled her thanks to him and he twitched a corner of his mouth. Hermione didn't know if it was a scowl or a smile.  
  
"Watch where you're going prats!" Parvati said dusting her front like Hermione had dirtied them somehow.  
  
"Same thing to you," Malfoy and Hermione said at the same time. They glanced at each other then turned back to the other three.  
  
"Just forget it, Parv, they aren't worth rising to the bait," Ron said playing with a strand of her hair. Parvati smiled and kissed Ron's hand slightly. Harry coughed and Hermione again felt like barfing.  
  
"Get a room," Malfoy said looking utterly disgusted. Hermione laughed shortly. Harry looked at her for a moment his mouth twitching slightly. Hermione realized he was trying not to laugh too!  
  
"I'll do what I like, when I like," Ron said grabbing Parvati's hand in his.  
  
"Me too," Hermione said walking in between Ron and Parvati causing them to drop each others hands and jump back in surprise. Harry snorted but no one heard it because Malfoy was laughing so hard. Hermione smiled and continued on her way.  
  
Malfoy looked after her retreating form. She carried herself proudly. She never had a wave of doubt about who she was. She was who she was and she was proud of it. Her bushy brown hair was now calmed and less frizzy. It was sleek and shiny and always bounced whenever she walked. With Hermione's golden highlights naturally in her hair she seemed to be an angel. Her eyes were still the chocolate brown that they had always been but now they seemed sharper. She caught every little move and she protected emotion from flashing across them.  
  
Her face was now sleek and feminine. Her little red mouth was never chapped and always had a shiny glimmer on it almost calling out for someone to put their imperfect lips against them...  
  
Malfoy shook his head. What was he thinking? This was the same girl that he had hated since his first day at Hogwarts. He's hated her kind ever since he was a little kid. His father pounded bad information about 'mudbloods' into his head and he always had the same opinion of all of them, no matter if they were Headmaster or just a friend of a friend.  
  
Malfoy looked after Hermione and then back to her old friends. Harry was trying to calm Ron down while Parvati scowled at both of them and glared in the direction that Hermione had gone. He shook his head at them and went back to the Slytherin Common Room to clear his head of impossible haunting thoughts of a certain girl.  
  
**Author's Note:** Well, I broke my perfect every four days update thing! I decided to update sooner than four days. I had some extra time so I thought I present you with another chapter. I hope you liked it. I was rather happy with this title too :D ah, the simple things in life. I will update as much as I can before cram time comes around for the finals. :S Thanks to everyone that reviewed the last chapter! Keep it up!  
  
**Please Review!!!**


	7. Lavender Rose

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. I wish I did, but I don't. I just own the plot.  
  
**Warnings:** It's a little mushy! Mushy-ish! Haha I will forever love that word! Mushy-ish!  
  
**Author's Note:** I plan to put one more chapter up before I start devoting myself to my studies. It will only be like...two weeks at the most of no updates, I promise. Celtic Angelic Witch: Like I said in the review of your story, I agree with you about the drunken raging parties, Oh, I love you so much all in one night thing. I hope this chapter doesn't go too far for you. They aren't like OH I CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT YOU, or anything but...you'll see. Brooks: slap lightly with pillow Aw, it's ok that you can't update as much as me. I just don't have a life and you do :P SpazySange: you put the frosting on my cake every time you review! It makes me blush :) Ya, I don't really like stories where Pansy is such a bimbo and comes out as a slut. It's so not cool. Hm, the protecting thing...I don't know about that. In a way maybe. I will write more action. In fact in this chapter even. :D nothing too much though. Like I said to Celtic Angelic Witch it's nothing major and all. I hope you like it. Lindy: You've reviewed more than once and I never really thanked you for it. Seems like ya'll want them to get together lol. Well, I hope you like this chapter.  
Celtic Angelic Witch: I will e-mail you about the parts and all that I like about them. I would add it up here but this is a really long Author's Note and all, so I'll be e-mailing ya!  
  
**Lavender Roses  
**  
The weeks passed like hours. Hermione was always seen with Pansy and Blaise on either side of her. None of them took Divination so they all had the same classes. They always did their homework together and every night they met in the Astronomy Tower. They never usually had to meet there. They were usually together anyway, but they would go there to get away from all the hustle and bustle in the Slytherin Common Room.  
  
Hermione was accepted right away into the Slytherin family. By all except Malfoy that is. He was like the leader of Slytherin. Not a lot of people dared to talk to him. Hermione only talked to him to trade insults. Hermione became quickly popular with all the Slytherins and eventually with Snape too.  
  
It surprised her when Snape started giving out points to Gryffindor every once in a while. He didn't dock points from her for being a know-it-all at least, and every once in a while he would give her two points for having a flawless potion. Although, her little points didn't matter much because he was always taking points away from other Gryffindors.  
  
The Ravenclaws were the Slytherins closest allies and they seemed to accept Hermione too. They didn't go out of their way to talk to her or anything but they would laugh along with the Slytherins. Only a few Hufflepuffs would do anything to even acknowledge that she was there. Hufflepuffs were close to the Gryffindors and usually stayed to themselves if Gryffindor wasn't around.  
  
Even though many people quickly accepted her, none of the Gryffindors did. Neville would look her way occasionally almost begging her to help him with a homework assignment like he use to, but then he would shake his head and turn back to his cauldron before it blew up. No one stopped hating her for being a 'traitor' though.  
  
Sure they all accepted her for hanging out with the Slytherins but that's what they expected from her. They were all convinced still that she was a death eater, or at least a spy for Voldemort. They would just occasionally be nice to her because they were afraid that if they didn't she would hex them and that would be the end of their short lived life.  
  
Hermione didn't care too much. She was just glad to have people that she can relate with.  
  
A few weeks before Christmas during dinner Professor Dumbledore stood up. "I have a very important announcement to make," he said with a twinkle in his eyes. "It's just a few weeks before the Christmas holidays and the last day of regular school we will be having a Christmas Ball."  
  
Excited chatter started almost immediately. People searched the crowd looking to make eye contact with someone they wanted to go with. Hermione just continued eating like nothing had happened. She knew she didn't have anyone to go with. Across the hall Ron and Parvati smiled and snuggled closer. Harry winked at Padama across the way. Hermione scowled and stabbed her steak angrily with her fork.  
  
Blaise reached over and took the fork away from her. "You're creepy sometimes," she said laying it a foot away from Hermione. Pansy squeaked next to Blaise. Her eyes bugged and she looked fearfully down the table where Goyle and Crabbe were. Hermione studied her for a moment and then ignored her.  
  
"The ball will be open for all age groups," Dumbledore continued. "There will be a Hogsmeade weekend this weekend so that everyone can get a nice new dress robe. The first and second years are aloud to go only with a chaperone approved by one of the professors." With that he sat down and let everyone chat happily amongst themselves.  
  
"I can't wait! I've wanted to buy a new dress robe for a long time now," Blaise said dreamily.  
  
"Since when did you start caring about that kind of thing?" Hermione asked her casually stealing her fork away so she could eat.  
  
"Since, awhile ago," she continued talking not noticing that Hermione had stolen her fork.  
  
"What are you guys doing for holiday?" Pansy asked after a while of listening to Blaise's senseless gibbering about dresses and frills.  
  
"Going home, what else would we do?" Malfoy replied.  
  
"I'm staying here," Hermione said sadly.  
  
"What? You can't stay here for the holidays! What about going home?" Blaise asked joining them on their conversation.  
  
"My parents went to America to see my Aunt's new baby," Hermione replied. "I don't like flying. I'll just stay here."  
  
"You can't stay here for the holidays! It's not possible! No one should ever! Go with Blaise or something," Pansy suggested looking at Blaise for approval.  
  
Blaise shook her head as she spoke, "No, my parents said only one person. And since Pansy has no where else to go, I told her she could come."  
  
Crabbe leaned over and suggested that Pansy could come over to his house. He winked huskily at her. Hermione wanted to chew her arm off and throw it at him. Pansy had the same thought too, by the look on her face.  
  
"What about going over to Draco's?" Goyle asked taking a huge bite of potatoes.  
  
Hermione stared at him like he was mental. "You need to go to St. Mungo's," Malfoy said.  
  
Hermione nodded her approval. Pansy and Blaise just raised their eyebrows like they considered it. "That might not be a bad idea," Pansy said.  
  
Hermione turned to look her in the face. She was sure that she had been joking, but by the look on her face she seemed to be perfectly serious. "How could that possibly be a good idea?"  
  
Malfoy looked at her like he was very interested in the answer too. Pansy hesitated. "Well, it would be a good opportunity for you two to finally get to know each other. We've been friends for a while now, and you're constantly throwing insults at each other."  
  
"Great idea Pansy! Once we get to know each other, my father learns who she is and rips her apart," Malfoy said sarcastically.  
  
"Oh, that's comforting," said Hermione.  
  
"It's the truth," Malfoy snorted.  
  
"But, your father is... well he isn't home at the moment. He won't be back until the New Year will he?" Blaise asked.  
  
"How do you know if his father is there or not?" Hermione asked her.  
  
"Well, my father is kind of with him," she said looking away. Hermione nodded her head knowing that both of their fathers were death eaters and were probably on some secret mission. She didn't press the matter knowing that Blaise was not proud of what her father did.  
  
"But what of his mother?" Hermione asked.  
  
"What about her?" Malfoy defended her. "She isn't a death eater if that's what you're implying."  
  
"I didn't say that," said Hermione taken aback by his iciness.  
  
"You thought it," he said glaring at her.  
  
"How do you know that? Can you read minds Mr. Oh So Cool?" Hermione asked getting mad at him again.  
  
Blaise and Pansy rolled their eyes. "I can read you like a text book, Granger. You're so predictable."  
  
Hermione's quick temper flared up in a heart-beat. She searched for a way to get out of a fight calmly and rationally. There seemed to be no way. And with the look on Malfoy's face he knew he had her caught like a deer in the headlights. "Predict this!" Hermione yelled at him splashing her water onto his face. No one around them reacted to it, deciding that it was best to stay out of their business if they wanted to live. Pansy and Blaise gasped and looked at Hermione with pride.  
  
Hermione stormed out of the Great Hall needing time to cool off. She walked out into the gardens and sat down on a bench heavily.  
  
Back in the Great Hall Blaise and Pansy turned on Draco. "Read her like a textbook?" Asked Pansy, raising her eyebrows.  
  
"Oh, sod off. She is rather predictable," he said gloomily.  
  
"Whatever, Draco, I'm going after her before she does something," she put her hands in fake quotes. "Predictable."  
  
"No, I'll go after her," Malfoy said standing up and leaving the hall before Pansy or Blaise could protest. Blaise looked after him.  
  
"He's not telling us something."

* * *

Hermione paced endlessly now. She had tried sitting down and calming her spirits but she couldn't sit still. The prat had gone too far this time. He was always making fun of her and putting her down and she was sick of it! She hated having him tell her that she was less than him just because of who her parents were. She wanted to tell him that his parents didn't turn out too great for being wizards, but stopped herself. If she did that she would be sinking to his level.  
  
For the past couple of days it had hurt Hermione especially whenever he insulted her and she didn't know why. It's not like she cared what the thought of her, right? _Right?_  
  
But Hermione couldn't help but notice nowadays that he always seemed to be different to her. His usually cocky sayings only made her laugh; if not out loud then just in her head. His emotions started to become visible to Hermione. No one could tell but she could read his emotion through his eyes. Most people saw his eyes as emotionless pools of ice but Hermione swore that she saw things inside his eyes.  
  
When he was angry they would flash with a warning. When he was feeling down they didn't sparkle as much as they did when he was happy. When he was happy you wouldn't be able to tell with just a look at a smile, because Malfoy didn't smile. When he did few people saw it. Hermione hadn't ever seen him truly smile. Only Blaise and Pansy say that they have.  
  
He always seemed to be upset after they had a fight too. He didn't come out and say he was sorry. On the contrary, he would just explain his actions like it made it all better and Hermione wasn't still hurt that he had said that about her.  
  
She sighed as she looked around the beautiful gardens that Hogwarts had. There were so many different kinds of flowers and plants there that it seemed to be a different world. There were pathways and bridges over the small stream that trickled down into the dark woods. Birds and animals of all kinds came to the gardens to relax or eat the nectar. But of all the flowers, Hermione's favorite was the rose.  
  
She found herself in the rose garden now. There were roses of all kinds and shapes: rosebuds, full-grown roses, and even some roses that waved even with no wind. They were so many different colors: red, black, yellow, blue, green, pink, white, and countless more. Unlike most people Hermione wasn't drawn to the red roses, she was drawn to the beautiful simplicity of the lavender rose. She walked over to the lavender group and smelled the freshness of them almost forgetting her troubles with Malfoy.  
  
She picked a rose from the garden and examined it like a scientist would. It reminded her of him. With its pretty outside that mesmerized you and dared you to get close to it. Then it seemed to laugh as you got close and pricked you with one of it thorns. When you tried again you would only be struck again by a thorn. She threw the rose on the ground and continued walking. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't hear footsteps behind her.  
  
"What was the matter with the rose?" Malfoy's voice asked.  
  
Hermione turned around to come a few inches away from Malfoy's face. She looked up into his eyes and saw herself reflecting back in them. After a moment she shook her head and continued walking, trying her best to ignore him.  
  
"It doesn't seem to have a problem with it," he continued.  
  
"Nothings the matter with it," she said not looking at him but focusing her gaze on the stars and full moon above her.  
  
"Nothing," he repeated looking at Hermione and not the rose that was in his hand. Hermione looked at him for a moment and shivered slightly. Malfoy shook his head to clear his thoughts. To him there was something wrong. She wasn't who he was supposed to fall in love with. He was supposed to fall in love with a beautiful pureblood witch. Not a beautiful mudblood witch.  
  
_Beautiful?_ He asked himself. She certainly did look it that night. The moonlight was reflecting off the glassy roses and making her already perfect face look like that of a dolls. The wind would blow through her hair occasionally sending it back behind her in a beautiful wave.  
  
"Is something wrong?" Hermione asked looking at him with wide eyes.  
  
Malfoy shook his head again. "N-no," he replied mentally slapping himself. _Malfoy's do not stammer_, he told himself. "Listen, about what happened back there," he said trying to change the subject.  
  
"It doesn't matter. I was being stupid and acting on an instinct. I shouldn't have thought that through. I don't even know your mother." she stated.  
  
"No, I was over-reacting," he interrupted.  
  
They both continued to explain they're actions to each other not noticing that the other person was already talking when they were.  
  
"What I mean to say is," said Hermione.  
  
"What I mean is," Malfoy said a moment after her.  
  
"I'm sorry," they said together.  
  
Hermione looked up at Malfoy and smiled. Malfoy, for once, smiled back too. It was a genuine smile that only a few people had ever seen before. His teeth showed and his face wrinkled reaching his eyes and making his eyes sparkle and dance in their own way. Hermione caught the smell of his cologne. It smelled of pine trees and berries mixed together. It gave him a rugged sense.  
  
Hermione didn't protest as they slowly became closer, until they were inches apart. Malfoy reached out to tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear. She shivered at his touch. "You're cold," he said running his hands down her bare arms feeling the goose bumps. "I would give you my jacket, but someone spilled water all over it." He said laughing slightly. His laugh wasn't the usual laugh but deep and full of joy. Hermione liked this laugh better.  
  
She blushed slightly at the comment and looked at Malfoy's shirt. It was wet from the water she threw at him. She smiled a little as she took out her wand and dried his shirt. "Sorry about that," she apologized again.  
  
"It's alright with me," he said looking at his now dry shirt and jacket.  
  
"No, I should have really done something other than that. I just wanted to prove the point that I wasn't predictable. And maybe I am. I don't know," Hermione said plunging into a story about why she was and wasn't predictable. Malfoy laughed occasionally but she didn't notice; she was too caught up in her story.  
  
"Granger," he said trying to get her attention. She kept talking.  
  
"Granger," he said again a little louder. She didn't even blink.  
  
"Hermione!" he said cupping her face. She shut up mid-sentence.  
  
"What did you just call me?" She asked looking down at his hand that cupped her face perfectly.  
  
"I called you, Hermione," he said almost not believing it himself.  
  
She smiled. "I like that, Draco," she said putting her hand over his. He smiled a genuine smile for the second time that night. Hermione liked this side of Draco a lot better. Draco slowly came slowly forward stopping an inch from her face.  
  
He studied her for a moment. Her eyes were closed; it seemed that her eyelashes were kissing her cheeks. Draco loved the look on her face. The only way to describe it was a face of an angel. He smiled a little and closed the gap between their lips.  
  
Something zapped through their lips when they first touched. Neither Hermione nor Draco had ever felt it before, and they both liked it. It wasn't a passionate kiss but it seemed to be full of emotion and life. When they pulled apart they were both out of breath.  
  
"Now, that wasn't predictable," Draco said kissing her again.  
  
**Author's Note:** Thanks to everyone that reviewed! I really appreciate it! Wow! I spelled appreciate without having to do spell check! Whoosh! Happiness! Anyway, please review this chapter. I hope you guys like the fact that they are finally almost together. No they won't be doing anything too serious though.  
  
**PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!**


	8. Wizard's Tie

**Disclaimer:** Even though I was gone for two weeks, I did not turn into J.K. Rowling, who rightfully owns Harry Potter and all his glory.  
  
**Author's Note:** I'M _BACK_!!!! After studying and studying I took the test. I think I did good...but the preparation wasn't needed. The questions were simple! Who was the first American President? Hm...was it George Bush the First? My gosh, I don't know who wouldn't get that one right. Ggg9091: You're crying?! Is that good or bad? I hope it's good...you got into the story :D SpazySange: Thanks again for reviewing :D you always make me smile. Lindy: I didn't underline your name in the last chapter :'( I feel bad. Here hopefully this will make up for it: _**LINDY LINDY LINDY LINDY LINDY LINDY LINDY**_! Hehe that was fun. Thanks to everyone else who reviewed!  
  
**Warnings:** Hm, look out for fighting between you-know-whom. Hehe :D it's so fun to write. I like the mushy-ish stuff better right, Brooks? ;)  
  
**Wizard's Tie  
**  
Hermione was officially happy with her life now. She had three best friends. She now called Draco by his first name and they didn't fight...as much anyway. They still had their fights, but they never were as deep and they always 'made up'. Strangely enough though, they never talked about going out.  
  
After their fights they would make up by going out to the rose garden where they had their first kiss and make up. They would never go past anything beyond a slight kiss on the lips, but it always seemed like there was tension and temptation to do so. Hermione felt torn between two emotions.  
  
She didn't know weather to love or hate him. He was so conceited and inconsiderate at times that she hated to be around him. But the Draco that only a few people knew was kind, funny, loving, and gentle. She loved to be around him when he was like this but it only happened rarely.  
  
Hermione didn't know what she wanted with him. She didn't like the fact that they had something on the side. He would go out with his many girls and seduce them into Heaven knows what and then move on to the next one. But for some reason he would always be there for Hermione. She felt angry with herself for not talking to him about their current situation.  
  
But she didn't know what to say. She had tried countless times to ask him but it all came out as a jumble of words that didn't make sense. It didn't make sense because she was uncertain of their situation herself. They had known each other since first year, but never really known each other until a few weeks ago and it all seemed a little fast for what they were doing.  
  
Hermione sighed as she looked up at her ceiling from where she lay on her bed. All of this thinking had made her emotionally exhausted. She rolled over and had dreams filled with a certain blonde haired boy...

* * *

The weekend of the Hogsmeade trip Hermione was hesitant of going. "Oh, come on, Hermione!" Blaise pleaded with her. Blaise, Pansy, and Hermione were up in the seventh year Slytherin dorms looking at their old dress robes. "Hermione, you _need_ to come. It's going to be fun! Pansy and I know this really great shop with the cutest dress robes."  
  
"It's probably really expensive knowing you two," Hermione said looking through their designer clothes and knowing they cost more than she was willing or able to pay.  
  
Pansy blushed. "Maybe just a little, but if you need any money we can give you some."  
  
"I don't want to ask you guys for money," Hermione stated. "Besides, I think my robes are fine, considering that I'm not even planning on going to the dance."  
  
"But Hermione! You need to go. You never know what could happen at a dance. You might have fun." Said Pansy while shuffling through all her clothes.  
  
"I doubt it."  
  
"Just come to the shops. If you don't find something that you don't absolutely love, then you don't have to go," Blaise said looking at her with puppy eyes.  
  
Hermione looked between her two best friends and sighed. "Fine."  
  
Blaise and Pansy smiled widely. The clock tower chimed ten. Pansy looked down at her watch. "Well, if we're going to get good seats for the quidittch match we better go."  
  
"Quidittch match?" Asked Hermione.  
  
"You didn't know? It's Gryffindor versus Slytherin. It's the last match before Christmas holidays."  
  
"But I don't have any Slytherin colors," Hermione protested as Pansy began to put sweaters on and Blaise got her uniform on.  
  
"We'll just have to lend you some then," Blaise winked at her.

* * *

The stands were full of students. Everyone came to quidittch matches. There was a sea of red and gold and a sea of green and silver. It was impossible to tell which colors were in greater quantity. The Slytherins seemed to be the loudest people there. They screamed at the top of their lungs even before the game had started. The new announcer Dean Thomas came to the megaphone and announced the basic rules. Hermione had to hand it to him; he was a good M.C.  
  
"And now the starting line up for the Gryffindor team!" he shouted. The Gryffindors all hollered and whooped. Hermione smiled slightly remembering being one of them. "Chasers: Colin Creevy, Ginny Weasley, and Seamus Finnegan. Beaters: Dennis Creevy and Lavender Brown. Keeper: Ron Weasley and Seeker: Harry Potter!"  
  
Hermione smiled and frowned at the same time. Usually she was screaming her lungs out when her friends names were mentioned. Now she felt deeply saddened by the fact that she couldn't, or rather, wouldn't shout out for them.  
  
"And now the Slytherin team! Chasers: Blaise Zabini, Jonathon Nott, Morag MacDougal. Beaters: Sally-Anne Perks and Millicent Bulstrode. Keeper: Alex Moon. Seeker: Draco Malfoy!"  
  
Hermione screeched loud as every name was called but smiled widest when Draco's name was called. Blaise waved to Pansy and Hermione from her perch high above. Hermione and Pansy waved back ecstatically. Ron saw this and Hermione could tell he scowled.  
  
The game began with out a hitch. Within ten minutes Slytherin was leading over Gryffindor 60-0. Blaise had put through two goals and she seemed on fire. Draco and Harry seemed to be neck to neck throughout the whole game. Hermione had to close her eyes every once in while as Draco came close to being knocked off his broom. Draco only seemed to be more determined to catch the snitch after that though.  
  
After a while Hermione began to grow bored of the quidittch game. She couldn't focus on it for some reason. Other thoughts seemed to be swimming in her head. She didn't know what she felt for Draco. She didn't know about her future. She didn't know about the ball. She didn't know about her Christmas holiday. She didn't know about anything!  
  
Her train of thought was interrupted when Pansy screeched, "Hermione, look!" Hermione followed Pansy's pointed finger to see Draco and Harry plunging down toward the ground in a race for the snitch. Hermione's breath caught in her throat as Draco reached to take it and Harry bumped him in the side knocking him off course. Draco didn't seem bothered by it though. He just hit Harry twice as hard. Harry flew off coarse this time.  
  
Dean's commentary was now in the distance to Hermione. The shouting ceased to her and she could only focus on Draco hoping he didn't get hurt. In one great leap both Draco and Harry jumped forward to catch the snitch. Hermione gasped out loud and Pansy tightened her grip on Hermione's shoulder.  
  
They rolled on the ground for a moment and then all was still. Hermione and Pansy took this opportunity to run down off the stands to see what had happened. They reached the field just as the teachers did. What Hermione saw amazed her.  
  
Draco and Harry both had the snitch! It was impossible to tell which one had grabbed it first. They both had a steady grip on a half of it. Draco looked at his hand and scowled. His wrist was bent and all out of place.  
  
Hermione gasped when she saw that. "Draco, are you ok?" She asked wanting nothing more than to reach out and comfort him. He gritted his teeth and nodded.  
  
Harry looked at Hermione and back to Draco his scowl growing deeper. "Worry about _him_," he growled.  
  
Hermione looked at Harry. He had a scratch on his face from where he fell. Hermione took her wand out and cured it with a simple wave. "I would worry about you if you worried about me."  
  
"Granger, use some of that over here!" Draco said through gritted teeth. Now when Draco called Hermione 'Granger' she knew he was upset about something.  
  
"I can't," she said somewhat sadly. "That kind of magic takes a lot of practice."  
  
"You're good at that kind of thing, though," Draco said ignoring another surge of pain in his wrist.  
  
"Not that good," Hermione admitted.  
  
"What on Earth happened here?" Professor McGonagal asked when she came within seeing distance of the two sprawled on the grounds. Professor Snape came up with his slow pace, his robes billowing behind him dramatically. He examined them for a moment.  
  
"It's a wizard's tie," he said after a moment.  
  
Hermione's eyes widened. "But that's only happened twice before!"  
  
Snape looked at her for a moment seeming to want to do nothing more than squash her like a bug. Instead he nodded and turned back to them. "It's definitely a tie. And even if it isn't Mr. Malfoy needs to be taken to the hospital wing. I think Potter is ok," he looked at the sky, putting a hand out. After a moment he looked at his palm. "And it's going to rain. I hate rain. We better get inside."  
  
Hermione studied him for a moment. She had never seen Snape act so weird before. He seemed to be in a different world. McGonagal nodded her head and announced a wizard's tie.  
  
The stands were silent. No one understood what it meant. McGonagal explained that it meant that both wizards had touched the snitch at exactly the same moment and therefore both won. There was no way for one of them to hand over the snitch to have the other win. Hermione wasn't paying attention to McGonagal though; she was helping Draco to the hospital wing.  
  
"That was bloody brilliant!" she exclaimed as they left the field together; Pansy and Blaise had decided to stick behind.  
  
Draco looked at Hermione for a moment. "I lost."  
  
"No, you won!" Hermione couldn't stop smiling.  
  
"And I lost!" he shouted at her. Hermione's smile faded from her face and was replaced with a frightened look.  
  
"Draco, what's wrong?" She asked putting a hand on his shoulder.  
  
"Nothing," he said icily under his breath. He shrugged Hermione's hand off. She continued to follow him though.  
  
"Something is. I can tell."  
  
"It's nothing, ok?" He asked rounding on her. His face was a few inches from hers and his eyes flashed dangerously. Hermione gulped.  
  
"Ok, Draco, I get the point," she said stepping back trying to avoid another full out fight.  
  
"No! No, you don't!" He yelled waving his uninjured hand at her. "You don't understand! Just back off! This is why you don't have friends!"  
  
Hermione's eyes sprung with tears. Her eyes looked like an ocean right before a storm; calm and ready to become a raging sea of emotion. She stepped back and looked at Draco for a moment. She brought her hand around and smacked him hard in the face. She took another step back and ran from him toward her Gryffindor dorm.  
  
Draco touched his face where Hermione had slapped him. It wasn't his face that hurt...it was his heart.  
  
**Author's Note:** Ok, like I said, I'm back from the evil tests and now will be updating again! I hope you guys like this chapter. It's not very eventful but you kind of get the point of the tension between the two right? Well, if not, you now know that there is tension. Lol. Anyway...please review!  
  
**PLEASE REVIEW!!!**


	9. Fit For A Queen

**Disclaimer:** Sir, no, sir! I do not own Harry Potter! Although...I wish I owned him. He'd be all mine **MWAHAHAHAHAHA**!

**Warnings:** Just people being stupid. You know how that is.

**Author's Note:** Hehe, lotsa reviews! I feel so loved! Thank you! Amanda: Thanks for the wishes on the finals. I hope I did ok...it stupid how we don't find out for another weeks. Ah! The tension! Oh well, it's a week off of school! RazzaR and Dangerkitteh13: Hm...how to put this? I guess the only way for you to find out about the whole Hermione/Harry/Ron thing is to keep reading and reviewing :D I'm so evil. But don't worry...I'm not _that_ evil ;) Inandout: Wow, I never would have guessed that you were Lindy! But anyway, you're so very welcome about the underline thing, I felt so bad :( but I hope it made up for it :) I was hoping for that line to be an interest grabber, and I guess it is! It sounded a little cliché on me, but now I love it lol. ChilLinPNaY: What _is _Draco's problem? I never understood that in the books...anyway, I guess his problem is that he's hiding something from himself. Haha. How you hide something from yourself, I do not know...

**Fit For A Queen**

Hermione ran to her room and slammed the door behind her. She collapsed on the bed and looked up at the ceiling now letting the tears spill down her cheeks. She hated it, she truly did.

She wanted to be close to Draco and yet she didn't want to be near him sometimes. She had only slapped him once before. She slapped him defending Hagrid, who now didn't even speak to her. Now she slapped him for making her feel this way.

She felt like she was sick all the time. She had butterflies in her stomach when he was around. Her head was fuzzy when he touched her and her knees were weak when he kissed her. She hated it! She wanted to be stronger than this!

She rolled over and looked at her beside table. On it was a picture album. She pulled it out and stared at it for a moment. She never really looked at it a lot. She liked to relive the memories in her mind, not just from a photo. She turned the pages slowly looking at each picture for a long moment.

In the beginning of the book it was pictures of Harry, Ron, and her. She smiled at a picture taken their first year together on the Hogwarts Express. She was in the middle of Harry and Ron and hugging them both very tightly. None of them could stop smiling as people shuffled by. Sometimes passer-bys would stop and pose for the camera or wave. Hermione laughed out loud as Neville started to wave while walking and fell down. He never was the most graceful of people.

She turned the page and gasped forgetting she even had a picture like this. It was a picture of Harry and Ron again. Hermione was still in between them, only this was in their sixth year. About a month before Hermione was taken. She kept leaning over and kissing them each on the cheek. Ron would blush crimson and almost blend in with his hair. Harry would smile and laugh his bark-like laugh when she kissed him. Then Harry and Ron both leaned in and kissed Hermione on either cheek. She made a funny face and laughed each time they did it.

Hermione laughed when she gazed at them. That had only been a couple months ago and now...she frowned and turned the page.

Now the pictures changed to pictures of Hermione, Blaise, and Pansy. They would make funny poses for the camera like they were models. Pansy would do her runway walk and trip. Blaise would disappear from the picture laughing so hard that she was doubled over. Hermione would laugh and have to lean on the frame of the picture for support.

Hermione laughed and turned to page again. It was a picture that Draco had given her. It was a few nights after she had first kissed him. It was a picture of Hermione and Draco hugging playfully. Hermione would lean over and give Draco a nuggie (messing up his perfect hair, she mused) and then he would chase her around for a while. When he caught up to her he would kiss her as her 'punishment'.

Hermione's eyes sprang with new tears. They looked so perfect together. Hermione slammed the book shut and put it heavily back on the bedside table. She got up from her bed and started pacing around the room trying to clear her head.

So many things were happening in her life and she didn't like it! She knew someday soon she would have to face Voldemort again. She shivered at the thought. She barely survived the last attack by him and she wished she hadn't survived.

Sometimes she thought about how things would be different if she had just died. Harry and Ron would know the truth and be upset that she was gone. Or at least Hermione hoped they would be upset, the way they were acting now it was hard to tell if they would be upset at all. She imagined Harry being driven to attack Voldemort. There would be a huge fight and Harry would triumph over him.

She smiled at the thought of it. She didn't care about herself. She wanted to world to be happy. If she wasn't happy she was ok with that. She sighed as the door opened.

Parvati and Padama came waltzing in like they owned the whole castle. "Oh, just the person I wanted to see," said Parvati walking up to Hermione slowly.

Hermione looked at her quizzically. "What do you want---What in the hell do you think you're doing?"

Padama had opened Hermione's trunk and was shuffling through it throwing different items around. "We're just looking for something," Parvati explained joining her sister in searching.

"Stop it! What do you want?" Hermione yelled trying to shove them away from her trunk, but they wouldn't budge.

"Aha!" Padama exclaimed holding up a small notebook. Hermione's eyes widened as she realized that it was her diary.

"Give that back!" She screamed tackling her to the floor. Padama screamed and tried to get Hermione off her, but Hermione hung on trying to grab her diary. Parvati took the diary from Padama and flipped through the pages.

"Dear, dear, Hermione. You sure do write a lot in this thing. It's going to take me a while to read it all," she said glancing at the latest date.

Hermione couldn't move. She was frozen in her spot trying to understand why they would want her diary. The only conclusion was that they were more evil than she thought they were.

Parvati looked at Hermione for a moment and smiled. She stepped up to her and slapped her hard across the face. Hermione felt her nails go deep into her skin and knew that she was bleeding. Hermione brought her hand to her face trying to ease the pain. "I do not look like a wet dog!"

Padama hit Hermione hard in the shoulder. "If you said she looked like a wet dog, you said I did, bitch!"

Hermione couldn't understand it. Why were they doing this? She had never done anything to harm them! They smiled and left the room with Hermione's diary. Hermione looked at the door they had just walked out of and collapsed to the floor in a fatal position.

She didn't want to be bothered. She didn't want to chase after them to get her diary back. All she wanted was to lie down and forget all her worries.

As she lay on the floor a thought came to her and she smiled the most wicked smile she could conjure up. Actually, two thoughts came to her.

One, she had put a spell on her diary. No one could read the true meaning of it unless she wanted them to. Parvati had read the wet dog thing because Hermione could care less what she thought. But they wouldn't be able to read anything else.

Two, Hermione knew the best plan on getting them back...

LINE

The next day Hermione awoke before the sun did. She showered and snuck out to the astronomy tower to watch the sunrise.

The balcony had frost splattered here and there. Hermione's feet felt like ice when she first touched it through her thin socks. The trees in the forbidden forest were covered with white puffy snow. It looked like a post card. Nothing had been touched. The gray sunlight started to seep through the trees and the snow glistened like a diamond.

Hermione smiled. She loved the smell of winter; the way it reminded her of gingerbread cookies at her Grandmothers house. The snow cracked as the sun started beating down on it.

It was a beautiful sunrise. The sun was pink and purple in the east. In the west you could still see a trace of the full moon. In between the two large circles the trees and snow glistened and cracked.

Hermione saw a deer step out from the forbidden forest followed by her young fawns. She smiled to herself. The doe's eyes were wide with caution while her twins bounced around in the foot deep snow. The mother would occasionally shoot the young ones warning glances but would never act upon punishing them. Something cracked in the distance and the doe shot off her twins' right in tow.

Hermione watched their graceful leaps and bounds in the snow. They didn't send any snow flying and it seemed that they didn't even touch the ground as they went from place to place. The only way you could tell that they were even touching the ground was because of the tracks they left behind.

Hermione sighed and left the balcony to get breakfast. She was the only one there...or so she thought.

"Miss Hermione!" A voice screeched from a far corner. Hermione smiled recognizing the voice of Dobby.

"Dobby!" 

"It's so good to see you miss," he said hugging her middle.

"Oh, Dobby, I haven't seen you in ages! How have you been?" She hugged him back politely.

"Great, miss! Dobby is grateful for Master Dumbledore. Dobby now gets paid two Knuts per week and buys his own clothes!"

Hermione smiled down at him. His big green eyes shone with happiness. They talked nonchalantly for a while. Then students started to file into the hall wanting a breakfast before heading to Hogsmeade.

"Dobby must be leaving now, miss," he said looking at Harry and Ron who had just entered the hall. Dobby smiled and waved to them. Ron looked appalled while Harry just nodded his head at his presence. Dobby frowned slightly. "Why isn't Miss Hermione with Master Harry and Wheezy?" he asked turning again to Hermione.

"Oh," Hermione thought. She didn't want to bring Dobby's high spirits down. "We just had a little fight that's all."

Dobby looked at her keenly. "Dobby hopes yous make up soon."

Hermione smiled. "Me too."

They said their goodbyes and Hermione walked out of the hall. Pansy and Blaise were just coming down the steps. "Hermione!" Pansy yelled walking up to her friend. "Oh, I can't wait until nine o'clock! We _need_ to go shopping!"

Hermione smiled slightly. Pansy was always the primpiest girl in the year. She liked to have make up on and liked to be pampered. She wasn't a snob, just a person who liked to be...perfect. "Hermione what happened?" Blaise asked touching her face.

Hermione looked sheepishly down at the floor. "I uh...I just...Parvati just...got mad," she explained.

"That girl is the devil!" Said Blaise.

Hermione nodded. "We'll just have to teach her a lesson," she winked at Pansy. Pansy was great at pranks. She laughed and agreed that they would.

LINE

At nine o'clock people started filing out of the school to head toward Hogsmeade. Hermione walked between Pansy and Blaise. Pansy couldn't stop talking about the kind of dress that she wanted. Hermione and Blaise talked about who they would or wouldn't go with to the ball; Pansy didn't notice that they were ignoring her.

"What about...Jonathan Nott?" Hermione asked teasingly.

"That's so gross, Hermione!" Blaise said making a face. "His parents are one of the top death eaters! He says himself that he wants to fall in line with his history of death eaters. Yuck. No thank you!"

"Well said. What Creevy?" Hermione laughed.

"Who?"

"He's the kid that follows Potter around asking for pictures," Pansy said joining their conversation.

"Oh, no way! No Potter worshipers please!" Hermione smiled faintly.

"Hermione, would you go with Draco?" Pansy asked smiling.

Hermione blushed crimson. "W-what? I-I-I..."

Pansy laughed. "Aha! I found who you like!" She shouted with joy. Several people turned around to look at them interested in the latest gossip to pass around. Hermione blushed deeper.

"I don't like him--" she began.

"Yes, you do! It's obvious. I think he likes you too!" Blaise said smiling. "Aw, you guys make such a sweet couple. It's like Romeo and Juliet."

"You read muggle literature?" Hermione asked raising her eyebrows at her.

Blaise blushed. "Ok, so maybe I do. Do you have something to say about it?"

"No," Hermione smiled.

They had reached Hogsmeade in no time. Usually it was full of people, but today it seemed that the Hogwarts students were the only ones there. Hermione smiled liking the isolation. Blaise and Pansy lead Hermione to various shops before deciding they needed to go to _the_ shop.

Hermione followed them down unfamiliar roads. She had never been this far into Hogsmeade before and didn't know what anything was. Harry had told her he had been down Knockturn Alley, but Hermione knew that this wasn't it. The shops in this part of town were fancy and beautifully made. Hermione knew right away that these shops were too expensive for her.

"Where are we?" She asked seeing a bakery that had the most delicious looking cakes in the window.

"It's Shooter Alley," Blaise said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Hermione nodded like she knew that all along.

They turned a corner and Hermione saw the biggest store she had ever seen in her life. It was made of beautiful reddish marble. It was three stories tall and expanded itself down the entire street. The windows were all frosted slightly and the doors had Christmas reefs on them. People shuffled out carrying big bags that said 'Marquiiz" on them.

"Marquiiz?" Hermione sounded it out slightly.

Pansy laughed. "It's Mark-ees," she said in a heavy French accent. "Some French guy made it. Come on! We need to find the perfect dress remember?"

Hermione walked up the stone steps afraid of somehow dirtying the sparkling clean building. They entered the store and Hermione gasped.

It was larger than she had imagined it. Salespeople were everywhere dressed in the finest of clothing. The men had fancy tuxedo like dress robes while the women had elegant dress robes on with sparkling jewelry. The clothes were separated by color. On the right was all the red, the left was all yellow. There were signs pointing to the different colors.

Hermione looked at the ceiling and saw a beautiful picture of angels and dragons in the sky. They were painted on the big dome. It must have taken the artist years to finish it. Pansy dragged her along to the different colors. Hermione didn't pay too much attention to the different dresses that Pansy and Blaise tried on. She was too stunned by the cost of them all.

Pansy found her dress right away. It was yellow. Hermione didn't like the color yellow too much, but this yellow was perfect for her. It was a very pale yellow and it went well with Pansy's jet black hair. It was just like a dress a princess would wear. It was long and swished out at the bottom. Hermione was reminded of Belle from The Beauty and the Beast. Pansy had the perfect hair style in mind and Hermione was sure that it would be dazzling.

Blaise took longer to find a dress. She didn't like the colors of most of the dresses saying that they were too depressing or too happy. Finally after an hour of searching she found something she liked. It was a red elegant looking dress. Pansy said that it looked like it was woven out of blood and fire mixed together. Hermione had to agree. It felt like water woven together. She was almost surprised when it didn't burn her when she touched it.

"Blaise is on fire!" Hermione had said when she came out of the dressing room. Blaise laughed and Pansy smiled.

"Now, all we have to do is find a dress for you, missy," she had said laughing at Hermione.

"No, you guys, I'm fine with the one that I have," Hermione protested.

"Hermione, the last time you wore that, it was the Yule ball in fourth year! You've grown out of it."

"Well, I can alter it," Hermione suggested.

"No, we're going to find one for you."

They searched. Hermione tried to object again but they wouldn't listen to her. Blaise led her over to the black colors. "Oh, no. Black is too depressing!" Pansy said. But Hermione had to disagree with her. She would have normally agreed but she saw a dress that caught her attention.

It was jet black and made of some of the finest silk. It was a strapless one that had criss-crossings all down the back. Hermione was usually appalled by such a dress but the way this one looked she liked. It wasn't just black. It shifted colors in the light. If you turned it to the way the light shone specks of red would appear. If you put it in the shadows it would be blue specks. So many colors were woven in. Everything about the dress just shimmered.

Hermione felt it and felt like she just wanted to curl up on it and fall asleep. It felt like a cloud; it was so soft. Pansy and Blaise urged her to try it on. Hermione gave in and tried it on. It fit perfectly.

"Hermione! That looks gorgeous!" Blaise gushed when she came out of the dressing room.

Hermione looked down and smiled. She did agree that it fit her perfectly. Almost like it was made for her. "But it costs so much," she said frowning.

"Consider it a Christmas present from Pansy and I then," Blaise said urging her to get it.

"But, it's too much for a gift!" Hermione said.

"Nothing's too much for you, Hermione," Blaise said hugging her. Hermione smiled and turned to Pansy.

"Do you hate it that much?" She asked. "You haven't said anything."

Pansy looked at her. Her mouth was hanging open and her eyes were slightly out of focus. She smiled and shut her mouth. "Hermione that dress is fit for a queen," she began. "And you look stunning in it."

**Author's Note:** Oh, no cliffhanger now! I hope it still sparked your interest though. Next chapter **DUN DUN DUN**! The Ball! I hope ya'll like that one! Anyway, thanks for all the lovely reviews and I have a favor to ask of you...

Can I please have 50 reviews? I'm at 42, it's only eight reviews! If you review, I'll use your name in an upcoming chapter! Just leave your name in the review and I'll use it I promise. You won't be bad either! Unless...you want to be. ;)

**Please Review!!! 50 remember?**


	10. The Wizard's Ball

**Disclaimer:** Throughout all that has happened, I still do not own Harry Potter. It still belongs to J.K. Rowling.

**Warnings:** Evilness...mean people...usual.

**Author's Note:** **I'M AN OLDER SISTER!!!!! **(again!) I'm sorry I did not update on my regular every four day shedual, but on Friday the 13th of Augest my mom had a baby! I was so excited for it that I couldn't come to the computer and type up the next chapter, I'm sorry but not too sorry :P. If you're interested to know, my little brother's name is Daren John! It doesn't sound like I wanted it to, but I still love him! I will take this time and smile! **:):):):):):):):):):):):):) x a MILLION**! I'm so excited! So I made you guys a long chapter! Kinda....

Lindy: Thanks again for reviewing! You've reviewed so many times and I really appreciate it! Lol, ya if I see a dress like that somewhere I'll let you know. I just made them up in my little mind. I like them too though :) Fictiongurl, Lionessliz, Lynn-50670, and Rytanya: Thanks for reviewing! I love your words of encouragment! Jax: Thanks for the review! I wanted Blaise and Pansy to be mates to Hermione for once. (hehe I just said mates I think that's the coolest word ever! Well, besides Mushy-ish!) But I suppose she was too upset to really accio her diary back. Brooks: Boom! Haha, I love how you say that a lot now! It's the coolest. lol. More action in the next chapter, I promise. A whole chapter dedicated to it! ;) Celtic Angelic Witch: I know you have reviewed! And you were only one off! Darn, but here I'll post you're name up here! **LAURA LAURA LAURA!** I love you're yoyoyo what's up thing! It made me smile! Dangerkitteh13: Well, at first I was like omigosh I got my first flame! Someone hates me! But I see now why you could be upset :P but trust me, not any Draco Hermione action in this chatper, but the next one is DEDICATED to it! ;)

**The Wizard's Ball**

Hermione stretched her arms above her head and sighed. She had fallen asleep on the couch in the Gryffindor Common Room. She looked around and saw that no one was there. The sky outside was dark and somewhere a clock ticked. Hermione checked her watch and saw that it was near two thirty in the morning. She yawned and headed out of the common room to go walking in the castle.

Hermione remembered when she was prefect. No one was out at two o'clock in the morning. It was the best time to go out in the castle alone. She walked carelessly around not heading anywhere in particular.

Weeks had passed since Hermione and Draco's fight and the Christmas Ball was tomorrow, or rather today. And strangely enough, Hermione was excited for it. As much as she hated to admit it. She didn't have a date, but she was excited, because in the words of Pansy _you never know what can happen at a dance!_

Pansy and Blaise had dedicated the whole day to getting ready for the dance. They were getting peticures and manicures, their hair done, they went the whole nine yards with getting ready. Hermione had agreed to help them, but planned to just do a little make-up on herself. She wasn't that much of a fan for make-up anyway.

Hermione walked slowly up to the room of requirments. She hadn't been there since her fifth year when Harry had used it for DA. She felt the doorknob and thought about if she should open it. She didn't know what she required. She needed Ron and Harry to know the truth, she needed Draco to be friendly with her, she needed to know why Parvati and Padama were so mean, but she didn't know what the room would hold.

She took a deep breath and opened the door. She let out her breath in disappointment. All she saw was a bare room. Just like any other classroom in Hogwarts. At first she thought she was mistaken and this wasn't the room of requirments but then she double checked to see if it truely was, and it was. 

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. There were rows of desks and a regular chalk board in the front. A big desk was at the front of the classroom. The walls were covered with shelves that were stuffed full with books. Hermione entered the room fully and the door shut behind her. She examined the titles of the books around her. They were the books that she had always wanted to read, but had never found!

Hermione got excited as she looked in the desks. She found them full of quills and parchment to take notes or write letters with. She smiled. This room was her own sanctuary. She could be here all by herself and study, read, or just think. No one would ever bother her.

Well, maybe someone would.

The door creaked open and a head popped into veiw. Hermione didn't notice the head and continued to look at the other books. "Miss Granger," the voice said in a cool, intimidating manner.

Hermione spun around to see Professor Snape. He stood in the doorframe a small sneer on his face. "Oh, Professor Snape!" Hermione exclaimed leaning on a desk for support.

"Just what do you think you are doing out of your bed at this hour?" he asked stepping into the room. Hermione looked at him for a moment. He didn't seem to be too upset actually. He almost sounded like he wanted to know the answer.

"I just wanted to be out," she said truthfully.

Snape examined her, his cold eyes studying her features for a moment. "Is that all?" he asked like he knew the answer all ready.

"What were you expecing?" she asked, curious.

Snape sighed. "When I saw you enter this room I thought you were meeting someone," he said looking around the room for someone that would be hiding. "But then I realized that Potter and Weasley wouldn't meet you here."

Hermione looked down at the floor pretending to be interested in her shoes. Snape looked at her for a moment before continuing. "What is it that bothers you about not being the dynamic duos sidekick anymore?"

Hermione didn't get upset like she usually would but thought about it for a moment. "I don't know, sir. I've just been friends with them for six years and now they hate me. It's hard to have something that you thought you were close to suddenly ripped away from you."

Snape's mouth curved at the end like he was almost going to smile or frown at the same time. "Potter was right. You are the smartest witch of your age."

Hermione's head shot up. One, Snape just admitted that Harry was right. Two, he just said that Harry talked about her to him. But when? "Don't bother getting worked up. It was a long time ago," he said seeming to read her thoughts.

Hermione looked back at her feet. "Hermione, have you ever talked to anyone about what happened?"

Hermoine looked up in Professor Snape's black eyes. They never showed emotion, somewhat like Draco's eyes, but now they weren't as black as Hermione remembered them. They seemed almost...different. Another thing that was different was the fact that never in her life had Snape called her Hermione. He usually called her 'stupid girl' or 'insufferable know-it-all'. His eyes looked serious and Hermione shook her head. "No, sir. No body listens."

Snape shook his head, his greasy hair falling into his face. "I think they would listen. You just need to trust them," he said backing toward the door. "I know it's hard to trust again, but do try it. It will help." He left the room and Hermione stared at the door he had just left through.

He stuck his head back in. "Oh, and five points from Gryffindor for being out at two in the morning. Hurry up before I make it more," he added. Hermione shook her head. She knew it was too good to be true. Snape wasn't that openly nice to his mother.

Hermione smiled to herself and left to go to the common room. That was what she needed. She needed advice to come from the most unlikely of people.

* * *

Pansy and Blaise paced the room trying their hardest not to yell at Hermione again. She had been in the bathroom for the past hour. Pansy looked at the clock on the wall. Her face reflected in the face of the clock and she smiled to herself. She liked the way she looked. Her golden yellow dress fit quite well and her face was tinted just the right color to make it seem like she just came out of the pages of a story book. Her hair was in a bun that left peices hanging down. The peices hanging down were curled in tight curls and framed her face perfectly. She smiled even wider as she looked at the earings that she had borrowed from Blaise. They were a rare stone that was very expensive. Every twenty minutes they would change to a different color that would go with anything. She loved them!

She glaned over at Blaise. Blaise looked like she was at her own wedding, the way she glowed. Her dress was altered to fit her better and it worked. It hugged her body closley and she looked like she was a flame from the fire. Pansy bet that when she danced tonight that she would look like a dancing flame. Her make-up matched her dress. With redish eye shadow with glitter on it whenever she blinked it looked like a butterfly had just flown by. Blaises hair was left down. Instead of curling it like she usually did she straigtened it and it shimmered in the light. The new highlights that Hermione had put in for Blaise didn't look forced and too straight like some highlights did but perfectly natural and convincing.

"Hermione! What's taking so long?" Blaise shouted again.

Hermione sighed again. "Nothing. I'm done," she said as she opened the door.

Blaise and Pansy both sucked in breathes as Hermione entered the room. Her dress flowed down to the floor and seemed to hug her body. The colors shimmered at the slightest of movements. Hermione wore black gloves along with the dress that came up to her elbows. Both Pansy and Blaise knew she wore the gloves to cover up her horrible scars. Hermione would never want to expose the min public. Her tan skin fit well with the black. Since the dress was strapless Hermione had a big necklace hanging down the front. It was like diamonds only more stunning. It changed colors whenever she moved along with the dress. Prisims reflected on her face everyonce in a while. Hermione's hair was down somewhat similar to Pansy's. It was in a bun with peices hanging out. They only differnce was that Hermione had straightened the hair falling out of her bun instead of curling it.

"Hermione," Blaise began but couldn't finish. There weren't any words to describe how beautiful she looked. Hermione smiled at the look on her face.

"It's not that great," Hermione said blushing.

"Yes, it is," Pansy argued back smiling.

They linked arms and walked down to the Great Hall together. No one saw them on the way there though becuase they were the last ones to leave. As they reached the big oak doors Hermione spun around. "I forgot my earings!" she said turning to run back to the bathroom.

"Hermione, we're right here. Let's just go in, you look good enough all ready." Pansy said tugging on her arm.

"No, I need them. You guys go on ahead. I'll be there as soon as I can." Without waiting for them to answer Hermione ran all the way back to the Slytherin's common room to get her earings.

She searched for them for what seemed like forever. Finally she found them. They sparkled against the pale bag they were by. Hermione slipped them into her ears and smiled.

Harry had given her these earings for Christmas just the last year. Hermione loved them. They weren't anything special really. Just silver studs with a little chain hanging down them, but they seemed to be a comfort to her. 

She quickly made it back to the Great Hall. Taking a deep breath she entered the Hall.

Everyone spun around to see who had entered. No one said anything. People stopped dancing to stare at her. Hermione felt her face grow hot. If it was from the bright lights or the people staring she didn't know. She quietly made her way over to Pansy and Blaise, who couldn't stop smiling. Hermione was proud to notice that Harry was standing with his mouth open and Padama seemed upset. Ron was no where to be seen.

Soon people started to dance again and Hermione felt the heat off of her. She smiled when she approached her friends. "Ok, we were wrong. You do need the earings."

* * *

Hermione grew bored after a while. Although watching everyone dance with each other was entertaining for the first hour or so of the dance, Hermione started to wish that someone would ask her to dance soon. Pansy would sit by her for a while only to be asked by someone to go and dance. Only Crabbe and Goyle had danced with Hermione so far, and they didn't count. The person Hermione really wanted to dance with was no where to be found. Harry and Ron would occasionally glance over at her, but she would just ignore them.

Blaise had dissappeared as well. Hermione thought she saw glances of her everyonce in a while but quickly proved to be wrong; it was usually just someone in a red dress.

Hermione was pleased to see that the Patil twins looked absulutly horrid in their dresses. Parvati was wearing the ugliest purple Hermione had ever seen. It was a deep plum that didn't match her yellow earings she was wearing. Her earings wouldn't look right with any dress. They were the biggest earings Hermione had ever seen. They hung down to about her chin and ended with a big yellow stone that looked like it would be the egg that big bird was hatched from. It was quite surprising that she could even lift her head with the weight of the earings.

Padama wasn't any better. She had on a blue dress that was _almost_ laughable. It didn't have much to it. Basically it just covered what needed to be covered for a school dance and left very little to the imagination. Many of the girls _and_ boys at the dance seemed to be upset by her dress as was Hermione. Harry didn't seem to be though. Padama's hair looked like it was over styled and burned almost.

Professor Dumbledore stood up, snapping Hermione back to reality. "Now, we will have a wizard's ball!" he said with a smile. Some people cheered. Some groaned.

Hermione had heard of Wizard's Balls. It was like the muggle form of snowballing. Where you would dance with someone until someone announced a switch, and you would switch partners. Only with a wizard's ball _everyone _participated until _everyone _had danced with _everyone._

Hermione stood up and joined the line of girls waiting for a partner. Dumbledore clapped and the music started. Everyone moved closer together. Hermione's first partner was Crabbe.

Crabbe didn't talk much. He just looked down at the floor trying not to step on Hermione's feet. She laughed whenever he did and he would smile sheepishly. Dumbledore seemed to prefer going through a whole song until he yelled switch. Hermione was sure that she would be dreadfully tired after the wizard's ball had finished.

She remembered that the longest ball had last twelve hours. She hoped against hope that it wouldn't take that long.

After several dozen switches Hermione had danced with first years up to seventh years. None of them talked that much, except some Hufflepuff second year who wouldn't stop talking about how cool this ball was. Hermione would nod and agree politly and couldn't wait until the next switch happened. Hermione smiled as she saw Rytanya, the fifth year Ravenclaw from Germany dance with Goyle. Goyle looked so much bigger than her and looked like he could crush her.

"Switch!" Dumbledore called out and Hermione spun around to face her next partner. Ron spun around and glared at her.

"No way," he said turning to leave.

"Ron! Let's just get this over with. You know that we have to dance eventually. Better sooner than later," she said putting her hands on her hips. Ron's face turned red and he agreed finally. He placed his hands on her shoulders, but only bearly. He didn't look at her but scowled whenever they had to come closer to squeeze by someone.

"How have you been?" Hermione asked trying to make a conversation.

"Fine."

"Do you have anything planned for the holidays?"

"Yes." 

"Ron, it's hard to talk to you if you just answer with one word."

"Exactally."

Hermione sighed giving up.

"Do you like your new life?" Ron asked ravishly.

Hermione gazed into his eyes. They were full of hatred and remorse. "Well, I don't know. I liked the old one. This one is...different."

"Different?" Ron asked looking away from Hermione's hard gaze.

"Well, people belive me."

Ron pushed her away. Hermione stumbled back and looked at him. She had never seen him so mad. He walked off and Hermione stood there for a moment looking after him. People looked at them waiting for her to say something that could make the gossip buzz again.

"Switch!"

Hermione danced with Neville. Surprisingly they talked about Neville's gram. He didn't seem to hate her as much as Hermione thought he would.

Again it was time to switch partners. Hermione saw that she was with the other person that she didn't want to dance with; Harry.

He looked at her a moment and then hasitly put his hands on her hips. Hermione put her hands on his shoulders lightly. They swayed back and forth for a while not really doing much.

"Those are the earings I gave you aren't they?" Harry asked after a while.

Hermione nodded. "T-they look nice," he said looking away. 

"Thanks."

"Why do you hang out with the Slytherins now?" Harry blurted. He stopped dancing and looked at her.

"Because, no one else hangs out with me. If you didn't notice since the beginning of the year I didn't have a lot of company," Hermione said jokingly. Harry didn't laugh.

"Ya, but that's because---"

"Don't you dare say it, Harry Potter!" Hermione said glaring at a point behind him.

"Say what? That you sold me out?" He asked raising his voice. Some people turned their heads to look at them. Hermione glared at them and they turned back to dancing.

"I can't belive you're still on about that!" She hissed at him dropping her hands from his shoulders. He let go of her hips roughly and stood back to look at her.

"I'll be on it for the rest of my life! It's not something you can just forget about!"

"Harry---" she pleaded.

"Switch!"

"No! I'm not going to hear it! I've been wanting to talk to you for a while now. I saved your life countless times and this is how you repay me? Did those six years of being friends just take their toll on you? You should have died than sold me out! That's what Ron would have done! But no, little miss Hermione needs to be different than the crowd doesn't she? She always does what she wants no matter if it's the right thing to do or not!"

Hermione's tears threatened to fall. She looked helplessly at Harry. He kept on raving about how horrible she was and Hermione couldn't help but agree with him. Ron with his partner Blaise came waltzing over. Blaise looked about ready to either kiss Ron or bite his head off. It was hard to tell. She looked at Harry and then the helpless Hermione. Ron looked back and forth between the two too.

"Ron!" Harry thundered. Ron stepped forward looking at Harry fearfully for a moment wondering what he had planned. "Ron would have died! He would have died to save you! He would have died to save me! He would have died to save Malfoy!"

"I don't know about going that far," Ron said under his breath but no one heard him.

"You should have died to protect us!" Harry repeated.

"Yes! Ok? I should have! I wish I did! This is worse than death!" Hermione cried picking up her skirts and running out of the hall. She was blinded by her tears that she didn't see the person at the door. She ran into them and they fell. Hermione quickly picked herself up and ran out.

"Smooth move, Potter!" Pansy yelled at him, stepping away from her third year partner.

"She deserves it!" he yelled at her turning to leave.

Pansy and Blaise both slapped him on either side of the cheek. Harry stood transfixed on the floor not wanting to believe that two girls had just slapped him at the same time.

Draco saw all this happen. He would have punched Potter too...if he wasn't chasing after Hermione.

**Author's Note:** Oki Doki, you know the drill! _REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW_! I would like to thank Rytanya for being my 50th reviewer! I dunno if that's actually you're name or anything, but it seemed to do the trick. If you missed your name in this chapter, it's up there! {sorry if there are misspelled words in this, I did not use Word (which so niftily checks for mistakes for you!) but I used WordPad instead. Don't ask why, I just did. I'll fix it later though if there are a lot}

Another time to smile! **:):):)**

**PLEASE REVIEW!!!!**


	11. Romeo And Juliet

**Disclaimer:** I do not own them. Simple enough.

**Author's Note:** I'm so sorry! I really am! I've been so super busy with my little brother than I haven't had a second to myself. Now that Daren was born I have to watch Andy and make sure he doesn't kill himself somehow and we have a bunch of other stuff going on and it's all most impossible to sit down and type up a chapter. I hope this mushy-ish chapter makes up for all the time I've spent apart from everyone. Lady-Sanctuary: Wow, I made you cry?! I feel soâfor lack of better word, powerful. That's weird I know, but I don't really ever make people cry. At lest I try not to. Thanks for the review you made me really happy! Till Death due Us Part and Marie: Thanks for the wonderful reviews! Inandout: Thanks for your faithful reviewingness! I love it when you review! WARM FUZZIES!  Doriansportrait: Thanks for the complement on the out of character-ness. They'll be more like themselves some other time, but not now. I do get your point on the Patil Patel thing but Patil is their last name. You don't change the spelling of last names. Brooks: Ta-da! âthat's all I really have to say ;) Plus if Daren could talk, I'm sure he would say hi back lol.  ChilLinPNaY: Your way would be better, come to think of it. I'm not the best for rating myself on things :P but thanks for reviewing. I love yours! Celtic Angelic Witch: Hmâlet's countâsix actually. Wow, that's a lot huh? My parents must be brokeânever really thought of that beforeâHm

**Warnings:** Romantic-ness. Lots of it, baby!

**Romeo and Juliet**

Hermione ran out to the gardens trying to get away from everyone. She passed countless couples making out in the rose bushes and tried not to be appalled by them. They were having a good time while she was suffering. She continued running until she was almost on the edge of the forbidden forest.

She took one gigantic sweep of her arm and threw snow all over the ground. She kicked at the statue of cupid and broke countless flower stems trying to get rid of her anger and sadness. Nothing was helping. She needed Harry to be there so she could really tell him off for hurting her so much. That would only get rid of some of the anger though. She would also need Ron there. And the bastard Voldemort. She could really tell _him_ off!

Hermione fell to her knees sobbing. She shook with sobs and rocked back and forth because of the cold. Her mascara was running and she knew it. She didn't care though; no one was around to see her. Her dress was being ruined and it pained her more and she sobbed for that too. She shook so hard with sobs that she thought her frame would break in half.

She was crying so hard that she didn't hear Draco come up behind her out of breath. He had run all around the gardens looking for her. He knew she would come out here. She came here when she needed to get away. It was either here; the library, or the astronomy tower, and he figured he would check here first. He sighed a breath of relief when he found her.

He took off his jacket and put it over her shaking form. Hermione looked up when she felt the warmth of something around her arms and looked to see where it had come from. She saw Draco's calm pale face and smiled to herself.

"Hermione," he began but didn't finish his sentence because she wrapped her arms around him hugging him tightly. He wrapped his arms around her somewhat uncomfortably but soon hugged her back. Hermione cried until she thought there weren't any tears left to cry. She looked up at Draco. He smiled down at her.

He cupped her face with his hands and rubbed the tears and mascara away. "You look like a fallen Angel," he said laughing slightly.

Hermione laughed. No one could make her feel like Draco did. "Hermione, about what happened back there," he said looking at her fearfully. He didn't want her to start crying again. It hurt him to see her sad. Hermione didn't cry though. She just looked away. Draco put his hand under her cheek and brought her face back to his. "He was way out of line," he continued.

Hermione's eyes had new unshed tears shining in them, but she didn't let them fall. Instead she listened to Draco intently. "You shouldn't have died. I hope you don't mean what you said."

"But, I do," she said looking at him with all seriousness. "If I had died none of this would have happened!"

"Exactly."

Hermione looked at him her eyebrows fused together in thought. What on Earth could he mean? Did he want her to be enemies with her best friends now? Did he want her to suffer? Was he turning back into the old Draco that she hated? "But---"

"If you died I never would have gotten to know you," He finished. Hermione turned and looked at a rose bush beside them a blush growing on her cheeks. That's why he wanted it to happen. It was a blessing in disguise.

"Hermione, getting to know you was one of the greatest things that has ever happened to me. When we first met I hated you for being friends with Potter. I hated how you knew everything. I even hated that you didn't care that I hated you," he laughed. Hermione smiled slightly. "But this year has been different. I'm not the immature little snot nosed brat I use to be."

"Now you're the mature snot nosed brat." Hermione said laughing. Draco smiled at her.

"Yes. And that's what's different. I don't hate you for being friends with Potter anymore."

"Because I'm not," Hermione explained.

"And I don't hate you for not caring that I hate you, because I don't hate you anymore."

Hermione laughed shortly. "You still hate me for knowing everything?"

"Only a little," he replied huskily kissing her shortly.

"Hermione, you're a great person and if Potter doesn't see that then it's his loss," he said putting her hair behind her ear. "And because you're such a great person...I was wondering...if you would like to spend Christmas Holiday at my house?"

Hermione blinked slowly. Did he just invite her over to his house? But a death eater lived there! He would rip her apart if he found her there. Draco had already said that his mother wasn't someone to be feared, but Hermione wasn't sure. "But what about---"

"Only my Mother will be there, and maybe one of her friends. But it will be ok. My mother wouldn't tell anyone about you. She hates my father."

"Then why is she still married to him?"

"Because she needs to be. It's nothing to talk about right now though," he said standing up and offering a hand to Hermione. She gladly took it and smiled at him.

"I'd love to come," she said.

"I have something for you. I was going to give it to you at the dance, but I don't think you want to go back in there now," he said pulling out a box from his pocket. Hermione looked at him for a moment. He seemed sincere enough.

She took the box and weighed it in her hand. It was very light and didn't give away to what was inside it. She undid the pretty blue ribbon that was wrapped around it and snapped open the lid.

Inside was a single lavender rose. Hermione took it out of the box and examined it. There seemed to be nothing extraordinary about it. She looked at Draco. He blushed a little. Hermione smiled, never before seeing him blush. "It's the rose that you threw on the ground that day," he explained. "I trimmed it down a bit so that it would fit in a pocket."

Hermione put it behind her ear. It looked marvelous with her dress. She smiled. Draco smiled too.

"Can I have this dance?" Hermione asked offering her hand to Draco. He looked at her hand for a moment.

"Hermione, there's no music."

"Just imagine it," she said bringing him toward her. She put one of her arms around his neck and the other he took in his hand. He put one hand around her waist and the other held her small hand in his. Their hands fit perfectly together. Hermione rested her head on his shoulder and Draco put his head on top of hers. Her hair smelled of fresh rain waters in the tropical forest. He closed his eyes enjoying her scent.

They swayed back and fourth to the sound of no music. They imagined it all in their head and danced on for hours. Hermione didn't grow tired and neither did Draco. They didn't want the dance to ever end.

LINE

Pansy and Blaise crept out of the dance to find Hermione. She had been gone for two hours now and no one they talked to had seen her. Justin Flinchfetchy said she had bumped into him on her way out the door but didn't know where she went.

The two had already searched the library and checked in the Slytherin Common room. Hermione wasn't to be found.

"Let's check in the Astronomy Tower," Pansy suggested. Blaise nodded and then remembered what had happened the last time Hermione had been upset.

"Pansy! She might jump!" Blaise set off at a run toward the tower, Pansy right in tow. They got to the tower and were dismayed to find that Hermione was not on the balcony.

They ran onto the balcony and fearfully looked down. They couldn't see Hermione's form on the ground and let a sigh of relief out. "But where could she be?" Pansy asked scratching her head.

"Right there!" Blaise said pointing to Hermione and Draco dancing by the cupid statue. Pansy followed her gaze and smiled.

"So they finally got together, huh?"

"Aw, it truly is like Romeo and Juliet," Blaise said having a love struck look in her eyes.

"Who?"

Blaise blushed. "It's a muggle thing. A play about two lovers. They came from almost two different worlds. Their families hated each other, but they found the courage to love each other. The forbidden love."

"That sounds like a good play! What happens in the end?" Pansy asked interested.

"They die."

"And you're telling me that Hermione and Draco are just like them?" Pansy asked incredulously.

"Well, not that part," Blaise smiled as she tugged Pansy away so they could go back to the dance and leave Hermione and Draco to their privacy.

**Author's Note:** YOU KNOW THE DRILL!  
**PLEASE REVIEW!!!!**


	12. The Beautiful Bug

**Disclaimer:** Again, I own nothing but the plot.

**Author's Note:** I'M BAAAACK! Sorry I was gone for so long. Before you know it summer is over and school has been rolling right along and then a month turns into two months and so on and so forth. Sorry for my lame excuses. I don't mean to be a bore. Anyway…

Lady-Sanctuary: Thanks again for the wonderful review you left. You've been so faithful, it's so awesome! Jasmine: Trust, you'll have to wait this one out a little. It will all be ok. :) Lynn-50670: Thanks! You don't know how flattered I am to hear that! Inandout: You're just too cool for words. Yes, I love the roses. I guess I also have a thing for bugs, because these next two chapters are like…bugish. Hehe, new word! Person who knows the drill: haha! Xoxox-xoxox: Wow, you're name took a while to type right! Sorry, your suggestion did not go unheard; I might do a little tweaking to my thing though. At the moment, it's not Lucius we have to worry about hating Hermione. I've put a little spin in about Narcissa and Hermione though. Egyptian-Princess: Thanks. You rock so much! RazzaR, Nay, and Maddy: Here ya go! Here's a brand new chapter!

Without farther ado...

**The Beautiful Bug**

Hermione shut her trunk and heard it snap closed. She smiled to herself as she charmed her bags to be weightless. If she hadn't put the charm on them then each of them would have weighed more than Hermione herself! Hermione turned and looked at herself in the mirror.

Frizzless hair, check. What little make up she did wear, check. Shoes tied, check. Clothes ironed and not messy, uh...check. Hermione gazed down at her oldest uniform she owned. It wasn't too old but did kind of look it. It didn't have stains it, but its once sharp blackness had faded to a dull gray over the years. Hermione loved this uniform the most because it was worn to perfection. She straightened her tie and started the check list again.

Confidence, she thought. Definitely not a check. She was so nervous about meeting Draco's mother and going to their mansion where she could run in with Mr. Malfoy if fate was against her that she about backed out of going. The thought of spending Christmas Holidays with Draco though convinced her that she should go. Mrs. Malfoy, Hermione had met only briefly at the Quidittch World Cup nearly three years ago. Hermione frowned deeply at the thought. Hopefully Narcissa had changed since then.

Hermione turned toward the bathroom when she heard a shout of rage. She grinned evilly at the door and waited for it to burst open. One...Two...Thr--

"Granger!" Parvati screamed throwing open the door to the lavatory. "What in the hell did you do to my foundation?"

Hermione looked at Parvati's face and burst out laughing. Instead of being the golden brown that made Parvati fawned over by many guys her face had turned into an ugly shade of purple with lime green dots here and there. Parvati's scowl deepened as she stood in the doorway with her hands on her hips. "I'm sorry, _I _didn't do that," Hermione explained through fits of giggles. She wasn't lying exactly. She wasn't the one who did that...Pansy was. Sure Hermione had been there, but she wasn't the one who put the charm on the foundation.

"Well fix it!" Parvati screeched in hysterics. "I need to meet Ronnie downstairs! I'm meeting his entire family for bloody sake! Fix it, Granger!"

Hermione picked up her wand and laughed in her head. What a stupid, stupid girl, she thought as she waved her wand back in forth and muttered a spell. Parvati didn't have time to glance in the mirror before she took off down the stairs. At the bottom of the steps she turned and looked back at Hermione. "It looks ok now?"

Hermione smiled from ear to ear. "You look like a beautiful..."

But before she could finish her sentence Parvati had taken off down to the Great Hall to meet everyone. "Bug." Hermione finished following as close behind Parvati she could. On the walk to the Great Hall Hermione snickered. Parvati of course couldn't hear her, but many of the students did. Parvati looked around quizzically at everyone as they smiled and laughed as she walked by. Hermione knew that Parvati didn't have a clue what they were laughing about.

Hermione turned the corner and saw Draco leaning on a post in the Hall waiting for her. He was looking at Parvati, a sneer already on his lips. "Did you get sick?" he asked her as she strolled by looking for Ron and Harry.

She glared at him and continued to look for them throughout the packed Great Hall. People either goggled at her or laughed out loud. Parvati found Harry and Ron and quickly ran to their sides demanding loudly for them to tell her what was wrong.

Blaise and Pansy had joined Hermione and Draco by then. They both were slightly out of breath. If it was from laughing or hauling their bags up from the dungeons Hermione didn't know. "I guess it worked then?" Pansy wheezed beside Hermione. Hermione nodded as she heard Padama explain that she needed a mirror to see. Padama retrieved a mirror from her purse and handed it reluctantly to her sister.

The whole hall waited in silence until a shriek was heard. Parvati let out a scream that sounded like a banshee and a cheerleader mixed into one. Needless to say it was the most horrible sound Hermione had ever heard. "GRANGER!" she bellowed running toward Hermione. People instantly parted out of her way. No one wanted to get in the way of Parvati when she was mad. Hermione doubted that even Voldemort would stand in her way.

"Look what you did!" she screamed at Hermione pointing to her violently bright orange hair and purple and green face.

"I see what I did," Hermione explained smiling. "Like I said you look like a beautiful bug."

"You never said I looked like a bug, you wretch!"

Hermione smiled wider at the petty insult. "You didn't let me finish my sen--" Hermione was again cut off as Parvati launched at her. Parvati barely had time to raise a fist toward Hermione before Draco's fast quidittch reflexes stopped her from hitting Hermione. Hermione looked over toward him and smiled a quick thanks.

"Watch yourself, Patil," Draco sneered at her. "You don't have your lapdogs at your heels. You wouldn't want to get caught up in something you can't handle, would you?"

Parvati looked from Hermione to Draco. She turned to look behind her expecting Harry and Ron right behind her but instead they were standing a down farther looking at her like she was crazy. "Ronald! Harry! What's wrong with you? You're supposed to help me!"

Harry looked over at Ron and Ron nodded. They both came waltzing over toward the group. Hermione rolled her eyes. "Taking orders from her now?" Hermione asked looking at Harry.

"Better her than you," he answered smirking at her. Hermione let hurt flash through her eyes for a split second and quickly turned her hurt into anger.

"She's not the only one with back up, ya know," Blaise said looking at Harry and Ron. Pansy, Crabbe, and Goyle all took steps toward Hermione and Draco. Ron looked absolutely terrified and Harry looked like he just swallowed a melon.

"Train your dog, Weasle," Draco said letting go of Parvati's hand. Parvati rubbed her hand as if Draco had hurt her.

"Are you ok, Love?" Ron asked her looking at her hand. Hermione saw nothing wrong with it. It was a bit red from where Draco had no doubt grabbed tightly. The red hand wasn't as distracting as the hair or face though.

"He bloody grabbed me! Are you going to do anything about him?" Parvati wailed looking on the verge of fake tears. Ron, Hermione knew, would rather face Voldemort and his deatheaters than face Malfoy. Although Ron talked a lot about how he wanted to teach Malfoy a lesson, he knew that he would never be able to. Ron's mouth opened and closed a few times like a fish.

"Cat got your tongue, Weasle?" Pansy provoked flipping her hair over her shoulder.

Still Ron didn't answer. He seemed to be looking past all of them to the great beyond...maybe seeing the truth and understanding something that no one else in this world could understand. Or maybe it was because Professor Snape came up from behind Malfoy.

"Is there a problem, here?" his cold voice drawled looking back and forth between the group of students. Hermione quickly shook her head not wanting to get into trouble.

"Yes, sir!" Parvati exclaimed. "Malfoy just groped me!"

Draco's eyes flashed with anger and Hermione knew that she had pushed a button that should never be pushed under any condition. Both Pansy's and Blaise's mouths dropped open. Hermione gasped in shock. Bitch! She thought angrily.

"No, sir!" Hermione defended Draco. "Patil was trying to break the Hogwarts Code number thirteen by hitting another student on school property and Draco stopped her from doing so."

Snape sneered down at Hermione with hate in his eyes. His eyes darted to Draco and his expression, if it was even possible for Snape to do so, softened. "Be that as it may, Ms. Granger, you must have done something to provoke her," he glanced at Parvati's face and hair. "And it seems that you have. You both will be serving detention when you arrive back from Christmas Vacation. And for the rest of you," he looked back and forth between Harry and Ron and Pansy, Blaise, and Draco. "Ten points from Gryffindor."

Ron looked redder than a tomato when Snape didn't take any points away from Slytherin. He almost voiced his thoughts, until Harry elbowed him in the ribs to remain quiet. Snape nodded curtly and spun on his heel leaving the students in the hall.

"I can't believe you got me detention!" Parvati wailed the instant Snape was out of view. Before anyone could even roll their eyes at her stupid immatureness she had slapped Hermione across the face. A sting rose up in her face as she felt where she had been slapped.

What was her problem? Hermione had never really done anything to her before! Even when Hermione was still friends with Harry and Ron they were somewhat friendly with each other. Now it seemed like Draco and she had switched positions on attitudes.

Instantly Draco jumped forward toward Parvati. Hermione put a hand out to stop him and Draco looked torn. He wanted to get Parvati back for her foolishness but he didn't want Hermione angry at him. He decided to stand by Hermione's side and glare daggers at the group of Gryffindors. Ron took this moment to take Parvati aside and whisper to her fiercely. She looked a little frightened for a moment then whispered something into his ear and they both nodded, smiling in a sick way.

Harry stood there all the while, and unreadable expression plastered on his face. He glanced at Ron and Parvati for a moment but saw that they were somewhat occupied at the moment. He turned toward the group of Slytherins and Hermione and decided it was best for him to leave. He snuck away quickly, going over to converse with Dean and Neville.

"That bitch!" Blaise said after they had all left. "She needs to be taught a lesson."

Pansy nodded her head, a smile on her lips. "But you sure did show her, Hermione. I loved that hair!"

Hermione, forgetting the incident for a moment, took the time to laugh with her friends about the ridiculousness of it all. Draco slid his hand into hers and she squeezed lightly at it. The train came and they all boarded, going to a compartment toward the back.

As they sat they talked without a care in the world. They talked like there wasn't a war going on. The talked like their parents, who they secretly did care for, were not in the most danger of their lives. They even talked as if their lives were not in danger. Hermione felt free. She liked the feeling of no stress.

She was quickly reminded that she was going to stay at a death eaters house though the instant the train stopped at King's Cross Station. Draco led Hermione away from the compartment for a moment.

"Are you nervous?" he asked taking both of her hands in his own. Hermione laughed slightly before hiccoughing. "Scratch that, I can see you are."

"I'm a little nervous about what your mother will think of me, a mudblood, a Gryffindor, a former friend—"

"Don't worry about it. My Mother will love you. She's nothing like my Father, Hermione. Trust me. She's like heaven compared to him."

Hermione was still reluctant. "If you say so."

Hermione looked to the floor, studying her feet intently. Draco put a fist under her chin and made her look up. She tilted her head slightly and Draco looked at the slap mark Parvati had left. His leaned in and kissed it lightly. He muttered a spell and the mark went away. Hermione smiled her appreciation to him and he led her out of the hallway.

They said their goodbyes to Blaise and Pansy, wishing them a Happy Christmas before they began their search for Draco's mother.

They found her not long after starting their search. She stood alone, leaning against a banister, looking at the floor. She had a hat placed neatly on her perfect hair, shielding her eyes from view. Her dress was very pretty and well kept. Hermione blushed remembering her worn uniform she was wearing.

"Mother," Draco called. Her head snapped up and she semi smiled at her son. She walked slowly toward him and pulled him into a careful, protected hug.

"It's good to see you, Draco," she said pulling away remaining in her calm mode.

Draco reached for Hermione's hand and brought her into view. Narcissa's smile fell a little, but she still had a fake polite smile on her lips. "This is Hermione," Draco said. "Hermione, this is my Mother."

Hermione smiled weakly. This will be fun, she thought miserably.

**Author's Note**: Please review! Yell at me for being so lazy and not updating. I'm sorry.


	13. Fuzzy Questions

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything but the plot. I am not making any money by writing this story. Seriously, who would pay me to write this?

**Author's Note:** Sorry…that's all I have to say.

The Black Swan: Thanks for yelling at me. It's what convinced me to start writing again. Amore Fugget: Thanks for telling me to get a move on.

Whatevs: Ya, I know Blaise is a boy, but when I started writing this (or more had the idea in my head) J.K. Rowling had not yet specified what gender Blaise was. When I found out that Blaise was indeed 100 a boy it was too late for me to change the Blaise that I had thought up. But from now on future stories that I write will always feature a boy Blaise.

Athenis: I agree :)

Celtic-Elements: Have you read HBP yet? Well the Narcissa in the book, is kind of like the Narcissa I have planned in my head. Sure she is a little evil and twisted (she would have to be, getting married to Lucius Malfoy! Unless she was betrothed…) but she also has the heart of a mother. In case you haven't read it yet I'll just say something that won't give away the plot…Narcissa wants what's best for her son. When he is in danger she's in tears trying to find a way to save him. I thought that was awesome. If it had been Lucius I'm sure he would have cast it aside not really caring. Only caring about losing an heir, but Narcissa was really feeling down. I think that's the way I'm going to write Narcissa. She's still evil, but she cares. Get it? I dunno I'm not very good at explaining.

Brooks: See above, lol

Ka Anor: Ya, it's sad. But I promise it will get better!

Celtic Angelic Witch: Thanks. Your reviews make me so happy :) The family is great. Thanks for asking. My older sisters are getting ready to go to college. They're going to Casper Wyoming. It'll be fun :)

Lady-sanctuary: Aw…you rock so much! Harry and Ron are tricky aren't they? I can't really tell you too much about them finding out the truth, but don't worry, it's not going to be a tragedy fic. I think I put it under Romance/Action/Adventure. No Tragedy:)

Hermione followed Draco and his mother out of the station and across a long boulevard. Draco was taller than his mother by several inches. His blond platinum hair looked identical to Narcissa's long flowing hair. Narcissa carried herself very properly. She walked with her back straight, her head level to the ground, and her waist swished back and forth lightly.

Finally they reached a small square of town that had very few occupants. Draco turned and looked at Hermione a slight smile on his lips. "We're going to drive," he said excitedly.

Narcissa ignored his excited tone and pulled a ring of keys out of her white, expensive looking purse. She clicked a little unlock button and instantly a garbage can turned and twisted into a magnificent car. Hermione glanced around seeing if the muggles had noticed. None of them seemed to notice that anything strange had happened.

"Hurry and get in the car," Narcissa said airily. "The charm wears off in a few minutes. We must be on the road by then."

Draco grabbed Hermione's hand and led her into the back seat. Hermione was about to reach out and close the door behind her, but Narcissa suddenly appeared at the door and climbed in. Draco did not seem to notice this however and just sat in his seat glancing out the window watching the muggles walk by.

Hermione did not know what to say. Shouldn't Narcissa be driving? "Um…aren't you supposed to be driving?" She asked wearily.

Narcissa examined Hermione for a moment. "No, there is an auto-drive system. It means that with magic, a driver will take you to your destination. There is no need to resort one's self to driving."

Hermione felt her face grow hot with embarrassment. She should have known that Narcissa Malfoy had never once lifted her finger to do any labor, even if it was driving. She felt even more embarrassed that she had her license for driving sitting in her trunk.

The car had started moving during Narcissa's and Hermione's little 'chat'. They traveled for a long while without talking to one another, but sitting in rather uncomfortable silence. Draco would strum his fingers on the door's armrest, Hermione would adjust her skirt often, and Narcissa sat like a stone figure.

"So, Mother," Draco began. "How are things at the manor?"

Narcissa's eyes seemed to light up at this question although her face remained stony. "Oh, wonderful, dear! I had the house elves fix up some of the guest rooms we have. We've been getting so many guests lately! Just last week we had Mr. Nott come and stay. Now I'm having the elves do the main hall. It's getting a new floor and a new chandelier. I'm having them do it all manually. They don't seem to be getting too much work lately. I've been out so there hasn't been much need for them."

Hermione felt her blood boil. How can she treat her house elves so poorly? No wonder Dobby never talked about what it was like there. It would have been too painful. Draco didn't seem to notice that Hermione was now taking deep breaths to calm herself, and continued the conversation.

"So, Miss Granger, what is it your parents do?" Narcissa asked, clearly having a hard time voicing the question in a somewhat polite tone.

"They're dentists," Hermione explained. "They fix teeth."

Narcissa raised her eyebrows slightly. "Are they like a healer?"

"Well, not really. They only fix a certain area. A healer can fix anything that comes their way; teeth, feet, cuts. A dentist only fixed teeth. A muggle equivalent to a healer would be a doctor."

"Mother is a healer," Draco said happily.

"Are you really? That must be fascinating! How many years of medical school did you have to take to become one?" Hermione could not help herself. She was surprised that Narcissa was smart enough to be a healer, or even wanted to heal people. Maybe when a death eater was injured she healed them to avoid traveling to St. Mungo's where they would question them? Hermione pondered.

"After Hogwarts, I spent four years at Nonni University of Healers in Italy," Narcissa explained. Hermione nodded along sharing her views and Narcissa supplied efficient answers to Hermione's demanding questions. Draco sat looking at his two favorite women in the world, a knowing smirk growing with each moment. He knew that after they broke the ice, they would find that they were not that different.

All too soon the car came to a stop. Narcissa glanced at her watch expectantly and frowned. "We can't be there yet," she said to herself. Hermione strained her neck to check out the window. They were no where near a grand house or in a neighborhood. They were at a regular muggle rest station.

Narcissa opened the door and hastily explained that she needed to re-charm the car. Draco chuckled slightly as the slammed the door. "Mother hates re-doing any task," he explained softly. Hermione nodded her head in understanding.

Sighing she leaned back on the plush seat. She closed her eyes enjoying a moment where she didn't have to be too cautious and watch what she said. Being around Narcissa was very hard. She wanted to impress her. Hermione grew uncomfortable thinking about how Narcissa would feel about her if she let some crude comment slip.

Draco could sense that Hermione felt stressed. He put a hand on her shoulder and slowly shifted her so that her head was lying across his lap. Hermione closed her eyes feeling immediately relaxed. Draco stroked her hair calming her nerves, and also calming him in the process.

"Your mother seems more interested in muggle things that I expected she would be," Hermione mused.

Draco nodded. "She different from Father in that perspective. She's fascinated at how muggles can get along without magic. Although, Father doesn't know this. If he found out that she was intrigued with muggle things I'm sure the result wouldn't be good."

Hermione felt Draco shiver slightly. She grabbed the hand that was stroking her hair and gently kissed it, trying to make him feel better. He half smiled at her.

Every once in a while Hermione would wonder what could be keeping Narcissa. Surely the spell didn't take that long to cast. Even the most complex spells didn't last for too long. And Hermione was sure that this was not a very complex spell. "I wonder what's keeping Mother," Draco voiced looking out the window. Hermione too stretched her neck to look out the window. Narcissa was standing outside talking to someone. Draco must have known who it was because he instantly pushed Hermione's head down.

"That's Mr. Crabbe," he said pushing Hermione to the floor. Hermione scowled at Draco but he didn't notice. "If he sees you…" Draco looked away from the window and down at Hermione. Hermione felt a breath get lodged in her throat. His eyes were worried. As he gazed down at his girlfriend he realized just how dangerous it is to take Hermione home for Christmas.

Hermione, for her part, didn't look the least bit scared. If Crabbe Senior was anything like the Crabbe at school she didn't have anything to worry about. If he opened the door and saw her someone could say the simple disarming spell and that would be that. No harm done. But why did Draco look so worried?

"Draco," Hermione said as she shifted a little on the floor trying to get more comfortable. "Couldn't we just disarm him, place a memory charm, and continue on our way. If he's anything like--"

"But he's not," Draco interrupted. "Vincent Crabbe is as thick as a brick. His father is a master of muggle torture, king of thieves, and prince of muggle born killings. His hands are large and bulky, but they are skilled. If he found out who you were, there would be no stopping him no matter what happened."

Hermione looked away embarrassed. She was steadily growing more and more nervous. Her brain was working like mad trying to find a way to get out of this situation. No possibility she thought of worked out. She glanced at Draco and knew that he too was thinking of some way out.

Of coarse there was the possibility that Crabbe wouldn't look in the back seat of the car. But Hermione quickly squashed that possibility when she heard two voices move closer and closer to the door.

"Where's Draco?" A masculine voice asked.

"Oh, he's in the back sleeping. Tired out from the ride home," Narcissa replied. Draco could tell she was nervous but no one else could.

"Well, I have some important business to discuss with him. I'm sure he won't mind if I just poke him awake," said the voice of Crabbe. Hermione's eyes widened as she saw a hand reach out and grab the handle. Without even thinking Hermione reached up and grabbed Draco's head bringing it crashing down to her. Their lips connected just as the door opened. Draco's eyes widened in surprise to Hermione's sudden want but quickly dawned on the reason.

Hermione played her part well. She buried herself deeper into the floor so that Crabbe could not see who Draco was currently 'attacking'. Hermione closed her eyes tightly not wanting to see if Crabbe knew who she was. Draco put a comforting hand on her shoulder and squeezed. She knew he wouldn't let anything happen to her, but she still felt worried.

The couple could hear Crabbe sputtering and muttering. "Well…um…I'll just…I'll just talk to him some other time then…"

With that the door closed and Narcissa and Crabbe started talking once again. Hermione smiled into Draco's kiss. Draco smiled back and started kissing her passionately. Hermione felt so happy she let him kiss her deeply and she kissed back. She giggled and felt so happy that she had lived through that.

Draco broke apart from her and laughed softly. "Hermione, you're a genius!"

Hermione smiled broadly and laughed. Draco let out a breath of relief and rested his head on Hermione's stomach. Hermione sighed. She loved this; the feeling of happiness that she was alive and with Draco. Draco buried his face deeper as Hermione sighed and Hermione suddenly let out a great burst of laughter.

Draco looked up and Hermione laughed louder. "Your---your face!" she sputtered between fits of laughter. Draco raised an eyebrow.

"What's wrong with my face?" he challenged.

"It's fuzzy!" she screeched. Draco felt his face and realized he hadn't shaved that morning…or the past few mornings. He had fuzz growing all over. He smirked evilly and grabbed the end of Hermione's shirt and pulled it up a little. Hermione's laughter faded away at the sudden slight exposer and began to question Draco.

"Draco! What on earth do you think you're doing?"

Draco smirked and placed his face on Hermione's bare stomach. He started rubbing his face up and down, scratching her with his whiskers. Hermione let the thoughts of Draco doing something horrifying to her and laughed out loud.

"Stop!" she wheezed. "I can't breathe! Ah haha, it tickles!"

The pair was so caught up in what they were doing that they did not realize that Narcissa had opened the door and squeezed herself into a seat. Hermione had her eyes closed laughing so hard, and Draco was in a position that he couldn't see anything. Narcissa cleared her throat, instantly Draco stopped nuzzling Hermione and shot into his seat. Hermione scrambled into her seat almost as fast.

"I think you two have put on enough shows for the evening," Narcissa said, the corners of her mouth twitching into a smile. Hermione had the decency to blush. Draco laughed.

"The charm is fixed now. We'll be home in a few minutes," Narcissa explained after a while. "That run in with Mr. Crabbe was unfortunate."

Hermione and Draco shared a side ways glance toward each other and smirked. "Although, I must say that was an excellent plan. One of the only ones to get out of the situation."

No one said a thing more on the completion of the journey. Hermione had become steadily more nervous. She couldn't stop questioning why Crabbe had been at a muggle rest stop. Surely he wouldn't torture muggles there? She shivered slightly at the thought.

Draco was wondering the same thing. Someone must have told Crabbe to be there. But only a few people knew that Hermione was coming over for the holidays. And Draco trusted those people with his life. _But then again, the Potter's trusted Pettigrew, did they not? _He thought with a shiver.

Before anyone knew it they were pulling up the all familiar drive. Hermione glanced out the window. Malfoy Manor loomed ahead. It was unspotted white with pillars at the entrance-way. There were acres of rolling green grass fields surrounding the house. Above the entrance-way there was a crest with a pure gold M embedded on it. Around the M were snakes. No doubt the family crest.

Draco opened the door and slid out of the car. Once out of the car he offered Hermione his hand saying, "Welcome to Malfoy Manor."


End file.
